A brand-new movie from the world of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, will prove to be exactly what the franchise needs regarding a cinematic future. First announced in 2021, The War of the Rohirrim will be a spiritual prequel to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. When watching the Lord of the Rings movies in chronological order after War of the Rohirrim‘s release, the latter film will be first on the schedule, taking place over 250 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – the first film to introduce the titular Rohirrim.
In recent years, the world of Middle-earth has had somewhat of a resurgence with several upcoming Lord of the Rings movies and shows being announced. Most of these projects take place before the original Jackson films, thus not revealing what happened after Lord of the Rings’ ending. While the success of the franchise on the small screen is clear to see due to the slew of announcements from Warner Bros. regarding The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, War of the Rohirrim can prove to be exactly what the Lord of the Rings franchise needs after somewhat of a cinematic absence.
Lord Of The Rings: War Of The Rohirrim – Release Date, Cast, Story & Everything We Know
Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim brings Middle-earth into the realm of anime. Here’s everything we know, from release date to plot details.
War Of The Rohirrim Can Bring Lord Of The Rings Fans Back To Theaters
The long wait for Middle-earth movies on the big screen will finally be over.
The primary reason why War of the Rohirrim is exactly what The Lord of the Rings needs is that it will bring audiences back to theaters. The franchise’s recent resurgence has largely been attributed to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon Prime’s TV show set in Middle-earth. While the show has kept the franchise fresh in the minds of general audiences, there has not been a cinematic release from the franchise since 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. As a result, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be the franchise’s first theatrical event in a decade.
Similarly, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will have had two effects on audiences given its polarizing reception. The first is that it will have reignited the desire in cinema-goers to see a Middle-earth adventure on the big screen once more after enjoying Amazon’s show. The second effect, in the event The Rings of Power turned audiences off from The Lord of the Rings, is that the promise of a new theatrical release separate from the show will pique their interest. Regardless, either situation proves how War of the Rohirrim will see the return of theatrical Lord of the Rings fans.
Lord Of The Rings’ Anime Movie Helps The Franchise Take Bigger Risks
The anime style of War of the Rohirrim gives the franchise much more stylistic and budgetary freedom.
Aside from the return of theatrical crowds for a Lord of the Rings movie, The War of the Rohirrim also has several other benefits that prove it to be what the franchise needs after a decade-long hiatus. Interestingly, The War of the Rohirrim will be an anime movie. Coming from Japanese creator Kenji Kamiyama, the film will adhere to the lore and style of Jackson’s trilogy only through the breathtaking, visually inventive lens of anime filmmaking. This in and of itself is somewhat of a risk, with the style of animation allowing for the film as a whole to take bigger chances.
The reason for this comes from the bolder, more ambitious inclusions in animated films over live-action. If live-action projects tried to include the aspects that anime filmmaking allows for, it would simply cost far too much money. Anime projects, and animated movies or shows in general, can be more ambitious due to the freedom of the genre. While animators still need to be paid fairly for their work and not overworked as a result, there are naturally fewer budgetary concerns when crafting huge, cinematic set-pieces in animation than the ones present in live-action productions.
War Of The Rohirrim’s Success Will Give Confidence In Lord Of The Rings’ Future Movies
Future Middle-earth entries will only be bolstered by War of the Rohirrim’s success.
Finally, the last way in which War of the Rohirrim could prove to be what the franchise needs is by giving confidence to other upcoming Lord of the Rings movies. In February 2023, it was reported by Variety that Warner Bros. Discovery’s New Line Cinema is working on more Lord of the Rings feature films. Little was announced about the films other than the fact they were in the very early stages of development, meaning any details regarding story, character, setting, or filmmakers were left unspoken.
However, these Lord of the Rings movies can benefit from War of the Rohirrim. If the film releases and becomes a box office success, it will prove to Warner Bros. that the demand is still there for feature films in the franchise. While remakes of Middle-earth movies have never exactly been at the top of priorities for most people who crave more originality, a project as original as The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim could help Warner Bros. learn the right lessons from the franchise’s return to theaters.
The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim
- Release Date:
- 2024-12-13
- Director:
- Array
- Cast:
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- Rating:
- Not Yet Rated
- Genres:
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- Story By:
- Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, J. R. R. Tolkien
- Studio(s):
- Array
- Distributor(s):
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- Sequel(s):
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- Franchise(s):
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