It’s honestly a great time to be one The Lord of the Rings fan. Between The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 premiere date is next week and one Gollum movie from Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis along the way, there is much to look forward to from the fantastic world of JRR Tolkien. And now we have the first trailer (above) for Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim Film to get us excited for the first theatrical release from the series in a decade.
War of the Rohirrim trailer marks the first The Lord of the Rings anime, and it looks like a wonderful vision from Kenji Kamiyama, who notably did some of the Ghost in the Shell series, Ultraman and Blade Runner: Black Lotus. After the trailer debut, the story takes place 200 years before the main series looks like a wonderful theatrical excursion that we will have towards the end of 2024 movie schedule. However, I’m particularly hyped about how much this reminds me of a Hayao Miyazaki film.
I love The Lord of the Rings: The War Of Rohirrim is a big screen event
Yes, the last time audiences flocked to see Middle-earth on the big screen was in 2014 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies from Peter Jackson. So it’s great to see the trailer connecting the original movies to this one. There is a wonderful transition that reveals the 2D animation that looks to offer many unique opportunities to see Middle-earth through a new lens.
When War of the Rohirrim was announced back in 2021, New Line Cinema shared that it was “fast-tracking to the big screen” and that’s so exciting to me. In a world where more animation projects are being shelved for streaming services, it’s great that we can look forward to seeing this project in theaters – including with an IMAX release. Of course, it also helps that the first look absolutely delivers as well.
War of the Rohirrim is clearly influenced by Hayao Miyazaki, and I can’t wait
As the two and a half minute preview shows, War of the Rohirrim will allow audiences to see the War of the Rings through the time of Helm Hammerhand, the ninth king of Rohan. As the trailer shows, the story will focus on his daughter, Héra. While being asked to marry, by what looks like a childhood friend of hers, she wants to join the battle and become a true leader. And she is seen participating in some major battles.
During the summer, the voice the actress behind Héra, Gaia Wise, told EW that her character resembles heroines from Hayao Miyazaki films such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and contrasts like other women in The Lord of the Rings franchise as Arwen and Éowyn. She seems in touch with nature and not afraid to fight, but underneath that there also seems to be an emotional story to tell about her father and her history with Wulf.
As a fan of all of Miyazaki’s filmsI can see the influence, and I definitely count it as something that gives me more anticipation for the new The Lord of the Rings Film. There’s also something about the idea of seeing animated creatures from Middle-earth rather than CG that can be magical (and looks wonderful in this preview). It feels like the series was made to be adapted like this!
With War of the Rohirrim digging into a story that doesn’t have page-by-page lore from Tolkien, I’m interested to see how Middle-earth will be adapted through a wonderful anime, and I’m proud that we’re getting a powerful heroine that we have yet to be seen in these films and in this manner. You can look forward to seeing War of the Rohirrim in theaters on December 13.
