THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF ROHIRRIM Anime Film Gets a Premiere Date on HBO MAx
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim original anime feature film coming from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation is set to premiere on April 12th, 2024. This is a project I’ve been looking forward to seeing! I’ve been very curious about seeing what this show will look like visually and the story that it will tell.
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.” That stronghold was featured in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
The film is being directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) is directing and it will be produced by Joseph Chou through his anime studio Sola Entertainment. The image you see above is some concept art that was created for the film.
It’s explained that The War of the Rohirrim is going to “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 says: “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.”
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.
Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement, “The ‘Lord of the Rings’ films took Tolkien’s masterwork to new cinematic heights and inspired a generation. It’s a gift to be able to revisit Middle-earth with many of the same creative visionaries and the talented Kenji Kamiyama at the helm. This will be an epic portrayal unlike anything audiences have ever seen.”
This series is completly seperate from Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. I’m excited about both projects, but this anime film has definitly perked my interest.
Source: Variety