We’ve got a new look at The Lord of the Rings anime, The War of the Rohirrim, revealing a few first-look images and details about how it will bring Middle-earth to the world of animation.
These fresh details on the latest animated story from The Lord of the Rings come from Entertainment Weekly and an interview conducted with Producer Philippa Boyens, director Kenji Kamiyama, and star Gaia Wise. Kamiyama talks about how the film studies the king of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand (played by Succession’s Brian Cox), and his family.
“This is the story of the most powerful king in Rohan's history, someone who defeated his enemies with his bare fists,” Kamiyama explains. “Why did his lineage have to end with him? I think there is a lesson in hubris there and also for a need for responsibility and awareness in their power. We live in an age where, all over the world, we face the reality of war again. What, then, is power? What is the responsibility of those who possess it? It is something they need to think about by thinking together with those who don’t.”
You can see a few images of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim from People below.
In The War of the Rohirrim, the team found an opportunity to build on pre-established material. Specifically, they chose to learn more about Helm’s daughter and even give her a name: Hèra.
“In the appendices where the story is drawn from, we get these quite interestingly drawn male characters, and then we get this young female character who is never named — and that was really interesting to me,” Boyens explains. “We know Helm has a daughter, and we know that she was central to the conflict that happened. But myself, and especially screenwriter Phoebe Gittins, were drawn to her. We could feel the weight of being that unnamed daughter, which immediately piqued our interest: Who was she? How did she live?”
Wise, who players the character in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, describes her as “fierce,” “complex,” and “rebellious.” On the flip side of that is the movie’s antagonist, Wulf (played by Snowpiercer actor Luke Pasqualino). Boyens says this character is “one of my favorites antagonists to have written across all of the films I’ve worked on.”
“He speaks so directly to a lot of the crises that we're facing today,” Boyens says. “He’s a really fascinating character and exciting too. You don't know what he's going to do, and some of the choices that he makes are just breathtaking in a good way.”
Variety also reports that The Lord of the Rings veterans Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are attached to the anime as executive producers. Expect to see its story tackle events that took place nearly 200 years before Bilbo Baggins set out on his long journey.
The Lord of the Rings anime will give viewers a story they’ve never seen before, but J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary fantasy universe is expanding in other ways, too. For example, at IGN Live this past weekend, we got a closer look at how The Rings of Power will continue its story with Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video. A new movie installment titled The Hunt for Gollum was also announced just last month and promises to deliver an Andy Serkis-directed feature focused on Sméagol in 2026.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim releases in theaters December 13, 2024. For more on The Lord of the Rings, you can read up on why Ian McKellen is unsure if he’ll ever return as Gandalf.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer at IGN.
