This has to rank as one of the best times to be alive for Tolkien fans. We've already received The Rings of Power, released at the beginning of September to the biggest streaming debut numbers that Prime Video has ever seen. The first season of this prequel series brought fans back to the familiar world of Middle-earth, but thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Future seasons promise to depict famous events in Tolkien lore that were spoken about only in passing in the film trilogy and to further explore beloved characters.
But not only are we getting five seasons of a Lord of the Rings TV show, but there's also a new feature film in the works. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be an animated film produced by the Japanese studio Sola Digital Arts in collaboration with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Sola Digital is best known for working on anime series like Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045. Like The Rings of Power, the new film will flesh out a piece of lore hinted at in the original movie trilogy: the origins of Helm's Deep and the legendary King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand.
The War of the Rohirrim: The Plot
One of the most popular sequences in all of The Lord of the Rings is the Battle at Helm's Deep, which takes place in the second movie. Here Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and the people of the Kingdom of Rohan make their final stand against Saruman's army of the terrifying Uruk-Hai. In this sequence, we learn some history of the centuries-old stronghold of Helm's Deep and hear references to an old hero of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand, which will be the subject of War of the Rohirrim.
The story, as told in an appendix in Tolkien's book The Return of the King, goes like this: Over a century before The Lord of the Rings takes place, Helm Hammerhand was a great and powerful King of Rohan. After a troublesome lord named Freca disrespected Helm in the palace, Helm smacked him so hard across the face that Freca died. Years later, in 2758 (around 250 years before the main book trilogy begins), Rohan was invaded by a force from the east. Taking advantage of the chaos, Freca's son Wulf roused the men of his house and led an army to attack Rohan while it was vulnerable. Helm could not fend off both forces, so he retreated, allowing the country to be overrun. Even the capital city of Edoras was taken, and there Wulf sat on the throne and declared himself the new king of Rohan.
Helm took all his remaining forces and hid in the caves of the Hornburg, which would later become the site of the Helm's Deep fortress. A long winter fell, and for almost a year, Helm and his soldiers huddled in the freezing caves while Wulf and his armies occupied Edoras. Helm eventually became deranged with hunger and grief and would venture out in the snow alone, sneak into enemy camps at night, and kill enemy soldiers with his bare hands. Each time he embarked on these raids, he would first blow his great horn, which sounded so loudly that it could be heard for miles (presumably the same horn that Gimli blows in The Two Towers film). One night Helm never came back, and when the snows lifted, some of his men ventured out of the caves and found him standing dead on a hill, most likely frozen to death.
After winter ended, Helm's nephew Fréaláf rode out of Dunharrow, where some other surviving lords and soldiers of Rohan had hidden during the winter, retook the city of Edoras, killed Wulf, and was crowned the next king of Rohan following Helm's death. Finally, the armies of Gondor arrived to aid Rohan, and all its enemies were driven out. Wulf and his father Freca had lived near Isengard, and following their deaths, these lands were left vacant. It was at this time that Saruman appeared with gifts and kind words and offered to protect the lands of Isengard. Because he appeared a powerful ally, Rohan and Gondor were happy to let him take control of the lands and guarantee that no more evil would arise from them. Although it was unclear at this time if Saruman was already evil, it is likely that his real goal was to find the seeing stone in Orthanc, the tower of Isengard, which he would make his new home.
The War of the Rohirrim: The Cast & Crew
The role of Helm Hammerhand will be played by Brian Cox, who is best known today as Logan Roy on Succession, and for decades of roles appearing in films like X2: X-Men United, Troy, and Braveheart. Wulf, the traitorous antagonist, will be voiced by Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer). The movie will also be narrated by Miranda Otto, reprising her role as Éowyn in the Lord of the Rings films, presumably retelling the old legend of Helm from centuries in the future.
Shaun Dooley (The Woman in Black) will play Wulf's father, Freca, Laurence Ubong Williams (The Capture) will voice Helm's nephew and future king Fréaláf, and Gaia Wise (A Walk in the Woods) will voice Helm's daughter Hera. Several actors have also been cast in as-of-yet undisclosed roles, including Lorraine Ashbourne (Peter Jackson's King Kong), Michael Wildman (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (The Split), Bilal Hasna (Extraordinary), and Janine Duvitski (The New World).
The War of the Rohirrim will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who has directed many highly acclaimed Japanese animation series, such as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Higashi no Eden, Napping Princess, and Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045. It is co-written by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, who previously wrote together the 2013 New Zealand thriller film The Sorrows. Gibbins has also appeared as an extra in The Fellowship of the Ring and Desolation of Smaug. Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is a consultant on the film.
Release Date
The film is currently in production and is scheduled to release in theaters on April 12, 2024.