Amazon is currently working on a TV series adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings that will be the biggest and most expensive TV production in history. But even with all the resources and backing that this mega-production has, it will still be tough to live up to Peter Jackson’s epic record-breaking multiple Oscar-winning film trilogy adaptation, which gave us some of the most incredible fantasy action ever on the big screen. And now, twenty years later, it’s time to take The Lord of the Rings back to the big screen, but in a very unexpected way: as an anime film.
Announced via press release by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an upcoming animated spinoff to Jackson’s live-action films. According to the release, it “will plunge fans into a legendary battle that helped shape Middle-earth and set the stage for the epic adventures brought to life in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy”.
The War of the Rohirrim is to be directed by anime veteran Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) and the film “explores and expands the untold story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep, delving into the life and bloodsoaked times of one of Middle-earth’s most legendary figures; the mighty King of Rohan – Helm Hammerhand,” a character that only appears in the appendix of Tolkien’s original novels. For you LOTR geeks out there, that would mean that the animated film is set roughly 250 years before the events of the LOTR trilogy, in a period known in Middle-Earth as the Third Age. In comparison, Amazon’s LOTR series is set in the Second Age, thousands of years before the events of the films, and it’s believed it will be pulling from Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.
According to reports, Jackson and LOTR co-writer Fran Walsh are currently not involved with The War of the Rohirrim, but that could still change as the production is being fast-tracked by the two studios. However, Jackson and Walsh’s other writing partner, Phillippa Boyens, has already been confirmed as a consultant. Voice casting is currently underway with animation work already begun at Sola Entertainment, an anime studio which worked on the likes of Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, The God of High School, Ultraman, Tower of God, and more.
Last Updated: June 11, 2021
