The Lord of the Rings movies, based on the books by J.R.R Tolkien, were released in the early 2000s to astounding reviews and box office success. These movies kicked off a new wave of fantasy content, and Warner Bros Studios looked to Middle Earth for more content in this universe to bring to movie theaters. Since then, we have seen a trilogy of movies based on The Hobbit, and Amazon released the first series of a new show called Rings of Power.
Sadly, there hasn't been much additional movie content based on Tolkien's Middle Earth, only a handful of video games. However, fans will be pleased to hear that a new Middle Earth movie, called The War of The Rohirrim, is coming out, and it will be available much sooner than people think. Here's everything that is known about the project so far.
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The Studio Is Hoping For A December Release
The original Lord of the Rings movies were released in December each year between 2001 and 2003, in the hopes of capitalizing on the Christmas holiday crowds. This decision proved successful for the movie studios involved in this project, and Warner Bros are hoping to replicate this success with The War of the Rohirrim.
As such, fans of the franchise can get excited as the studio announced at San Diego Comic Con in 2023 that the movie would be finished and in theaters by 2023. However, the actors' strike pushed production back by a year. Since December has been a successful release window for Middle Earth movies in the past, IMDB is expecting this next movie to come out in December 2024 as well.
4 It Is An Animated Film
This Movie Will Feature 2D Animation
Whenever a big movie in a franchise is set to be released, fans and press outlets are always curious about which big-name actors are attached to the project. Will fans see old faces returning to Middle Earth? That speculation hasn't happened this time around, mostly because The War of the Rohirrim is an animated movie.
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3 The Story Features Helm Hammerhand
One Main Character Has Been Revealed
Very few plot details have been revealed about the events in The War of the Rohirrim. However, its title heavily suggests that the film will take place in Rohan, a kingdom in Middle Earth that is home to the horse lords that are loosely based on the Anglo-Saxons in British History. Some other details emerged later, though. The cast list, revealed by IMDB, showed that the character of Helm Hammerhand will be appearing in the movie.
Helm Hammerhand is the ninth king of Rohan according to Tolkien's books, and he ruled 183 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings. His most notable deed as king occurred when the great fortress of Helm's Deep was being assaulted by Dunlendings, and he walked out into the snow alone to fight off the hoard of raiders with his bare hands. The keep was named after him. This story hints that The War of the Rohirrim is likely going to depict the war between Rohan and their neighboring kingdom of Dunland.
2 Kenji Kamiyama Is Directing
A Great Animation Writer and Director
Shortly after the announcement of The War of the Rohirrim movie, Warner Bros also announced that this huge project would be directed by Kenji Kamiyama. Anyone who is aware of Kamiyama will know that the movie is in good hands, as he is a very experienced writer and director in the field of animation.
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1 The Cast
Some New Names, And A Returning Actor
With much of The Lord of the Rings taking place in Rohan, there are a lot of characters a new movie set in this part of Middle Earth could use. However, the cast announcement that came from Warner Bros in June 2022 only revealed that one actor from The Lord of the Rings will be returning to provide a voice in The War of the Rohirrim.
Miranda Otto played Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings movies, and she is returning to voice the character in The War of The Rohirrim. However, since this movie is set long before Eowyn is born, it is likely that this character will act as more of a narrator for the events of the movie. Other cast members for the film include Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand, who is most known for his Emmy Award-winning performance in Succession; and Shaun Dooley as Freca, who was recently in the BAFTA nominated movie, Saltburn.
