THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM Anime Film Footage Reactions Surface
Warner Bros. Animation screened the first footage of its highly-anticipated anime feature film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim which is being produced by New Line Cinema. This is a project that I’ve been very excited about and I wish I would have been able to see the footage that was screened at the Annecy Film Festival. But, we have a few reactions from the people that were there to share with you.
The story is set two centuries before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and it will “explore the exploits of Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and the creation of Helm’s Deep, the stronghold.”
The movie is set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films. “A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg – a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Hera, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.”
Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) is directing the movie and it will be produced by Joseph Chou through his anime studio Sola Entertainment.
The War of the Rohirrim will “draw much of its creative DNA from Jackson’s six features set in Middle-earth.” Philippa Boyens, who was part of the screenwriting team for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, is executive producing the film. She previously said: “I’m in awe of the creative talent who have come together to bring this epic, heart-pounding story to life, from the mastery of Kenji Kamiyama to a truly stellar cast.”
Judging from the reactions, it sounds like the creative team behind the film have made something truly special, something Lord of the Rings fans are going to enjoy. Here are some of the reactions:
Translation: “Two scenes were shown (one of them, the opening, not finished) and the producers commented on the importance of trying to unite the world of Lord of the Rings movies with anime ones. And it really was an interesting combination. It reminded me a bit of Castlevania #TheWarOfTheRohirrim”
Translation: “I dry my wet eyes, I clean all these pages of notes and I tell you but #WarOfTheRohirrim is in very good hands.”
That cast will be revealed at a later date. Phoebe Gittins, Boyens’ daughter, and writing partner Arty Papageorgiou are writing the recent draft of the script, which was previously worked on by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. The rest of the creative team includes Richard Taylor, who won Oscars for makeup and visual effects for Jackson’s films, and Tolkien illustrator John Howe.
Brian Cox will provide the voice to the Helm Hammerhand, the mighty King of Rohan, who is a character from the Tolkien book’s appendix. He’s joined by Gaia Wise and Miranda Otto, who is set to reprise her role as Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, from the original trilogy. She will serve as the tale’s narrator.
Boyens explained that the movie tells a story that is a “very human — and political — struggle.” She went on to say that the film is “not about the Ring, it’s not about the Dark Lord. All of that is very peripheral to the story.”
One of the things that she was attracted to about the story was the examination of honor, revenge, and familial ties — on both sides. “For Helm, there’s madness born of grief from the loss of the child. With Wulf, there’s his relationship with his father, and with Héra.”
The story will also include the historical grievances of the Dunlendings, that the lords of Gondor gave what the Dunlendings felt was their land to the Rohirrim.