The Lord Of The Rings Animated Film Is Delayed, So The War Of The Rohirrim Will Have To Wait

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama and written by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, “The War of the Rohirrim” takes place almost 200 years before the events of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. For those wondering how this connects to the previous films (a fair concern, considering that Prime Video’s uber-expensive “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series has a tenuous-at-best connection to the Peter Jackson movies, despite clearly borrowing a lot of the visual and aesthetic designs), the anime film has been described as a companion piece to the trilogy. The prequel details the origins of the famous fortress of Helm’s Deep, which took center stage in the sprawling battle sequence seen in “The Two Towers.” (Check out our handy explainer on exactly what this new film will cover.)

Perhaps in an attempt to get out in front of fans who might have dismissed “The War of the Rohirrim,” the film features a pretty interesting voice cast led by a returning Miranda Otto as Éowyn (reprising her role as the shieldmaiden of Rohan from the Peter Jackson films, though only as a narrator) and “Succession” star Brian Cox as the main hero, Helm Hammerhand. The rest of the cast includes “Bridgerton” star Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski.

This isn’t the only “The Lord of the Rings” project in the offing, as we previously reported Warner Bros. Discovery’s plans for “multiple ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies” in the years ahead. Buckle up, folks. These new adventures set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth have only just begun.