Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim takes Middle-earth 200 years into the past

Everybody wants their piece of the Lord Of The Rings pie. We’ve discussed the complicated rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s work in the past; Amazon Prime Video has access to a very particular era of Middle-earth for its series The Rings Of Power, while Warner Bros. Pictures has its own Middle-earth empire, so far brought to life under the watchful eye of Peter Jackson. The new trailer for the latest installment in WB’s Tolkien collection declares that Jackson “presents” The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim, which premieres on December 13. Separate from the new live-action LOTR spin-offs that Jackson is producing, this one’s an animated film set “200 years before” the events of the well-known main series (but still well, well after the events of ROP). 

Based on Tolkien’s LOTR appendices, “The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), the legendary King of Rohan,” per the synopsis. “A sudden attack by Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg—a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep.  Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra (Gaia Wise), the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.”

This is not the first time Tolkien’s work has been animated (shout out to the original LOTR adaptation, the 1978 animated movie), but the anime style suits Middle-earth beautifully. The trailer, directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Eden Of The East), is full of fantastic beasts and epic battles. The voice cast also includes Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (World On Fire), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), Shaun Dooley (The Witcher), Michael Wildman (Fast And Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts Of No Nation), Bilal Hasna (Sparks) and Janine Duvitski (Benidorm), as well as Miranda Otto, reprising her role as Éowyn from Jackson’s films to narrate this new adventure.