As the world braces for Jeff Bezos’s mega-budgeted “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power” to come out on Amazon Prime this September, there’s other news on the “LOTR” front. Audiences have another chance to return to Middle-earth in a new anime feature, “Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim,” out in 2024. But how much “Lord Of The Rings” is too much? That’s a question for another time.
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Deadline reports that some notable names are on board for voice work in the animated film, with a returning ‘Lord Of The Rings’ star among them. “The War Of The Rohirrim” focuses on The House Of Helm Hammerhand, King Of Rohan, and the fateful battle at Hornburg, later called Helm’s Deep, against the vengeful lord Wulf. The film is set 186 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s first ‘LOTR’ trilogy. Brian Cox stars as Hammerhand, with Gaia Wise playing his daughter, Hera. Miranda Otto reprises her role as Éowyn, shieldmaiden of Rohan, as the saga’s narrator.
The trio joins an ensemble cast that includes Luke Pasqualino as Wulf. The voice cast also stars Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benajmin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, Michael Wildman, and more.
“The War Of The Rohhirim” brings a lot of talent from previous “LOTR” films back together. Oscar-winner Philippa Boyen, part of the screenwriting team behind the “LOTR” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, serves as co-executive producer. Alan Lee and Richard Taylor, who won Oscars for their illustration work on the “LOTR” trilogy, also return for the film, as does Tolkien illustrator John Howe.
Kenji Kamiyama directs a screenplay by the writing team of Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. That screenplay comes from a script by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, based on an excerpt from Tolkien’s “Lord Of The Ring: The Return Of The King.”
Since Jackson’s first “LOTR” trilogy owns the title as the most-awarded and most-nominated film series at the Oscars ever (with 17 awards and 30 noms), a new animated feature with tons of people who worked on those films should be a box office success. But audiences will need to wait almost two years for “The War Of The Rohirrim,” as it doesn’t come out until April 12, 2024. “The Rings Of Power” should keep “LOTR” fans occupied in the meantime.
