Warner Bros Pictures Releases 8 Minutes Long Preview of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”

With the anime fantasy movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim looking at a December 13, 2024, theatrical release, Warner Bros. Pictures has decided to release an 8-minute long preview on YouTube to entice people.

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama from a Screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou, with the Story by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, and Philippa Boyens, while being based on characters created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the upcoming LotR: The War of Rohirrim is set 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s live-action The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003).

The story is about the legendary king of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand. The premise goes over how he and his family defended their great kingdom against an army of Dunlendings. Helm and his people will make their last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg; the mighty fortress that will later be known as Helm’s Deep.

The voice cast includes Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand, Gaia Wise as Héra (Helm’s daughter), Luke Pasqualino as Wulf (the leader of the Dunlendings who seeks revenge against Rohan for his father’s death), Miranda Otto as Éowyn (the narrator of the film), Lorraine Ashbourne as Olwyn, Yazdan Qafouri and Benjamin Wainwright as Helm’s sons Hama and Haleth, respectively.

There’s also Laurence Ubong Williams as Fréaláf Hildeson, Helm’s nephew and successor to the throne of Rohan, Shaun Dooley as Wulf’s father Freca, Michael Wildman as General Targg, Jude Akuwudike as Lord Thorne, Bilal Hasna as Lief, and Janine Duvitski as Old Pennicruik. Also, Christopher Lee posthumously voiced Saruman through an archival recording.

Here’s the extended preview!

I like how the preview gives viewers an idea about the personalities of some characters. The animation looks nice, too. And while I have seen some hype in the fandom for having a new project in the long-running LotR franchise, I have also seen certain people not vibing with how Héra seems to be the main character.

Apparantly, from what I have seen, according to what certain LotR fans have shared online, Héra was never a major player in the lore and the upcoming anime movie goes against canon by focusing so much on her. Feel free to correct such opinions if you know more about the expansive LotR lore because I sure don’t. 

Frankly, I don’t have an opinion on the matter. It’s not like the LotR lore hasn’t been changed or interpreted quite differently through the OG live-action trilogy and the live-action The Hobbit movies. And judging from what was shown in the extended preview, I think the dynamic between Héra and her father was handled well. It’s not as if she’s running around killing Orcs and other dark beings with superpowers. As for her inevitable battle with Wulf, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a plan up her sleeves to defeat such an opponent.

And besides it’s not like Princesses and other women connected to Royals and other similar positions haven’t stepped up in the time of need to try and protect their Kingdoms in real life over the centuries.

But yeah, let’s see how Héra and the overall narrative are received once released. We will find out soon enough!

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the Production companies include New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Animation, Sola Entertainment, and WingNut Films.

The animated offering has been rated PG-13 (Strong Violence) and will have an approximate Runtime of 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Are you looking forward to watching The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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