New Lord Of The Rings Movie Can Finally Explain A Two Towers Scene, 22 Years Later

The new Lord of the Rings movie, Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, will finally provide context to one scene in 2002’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The upcoming Lord of the Rings movie will be an animated theater release and the first Lord of the Rings movie since the last Hobbit movie released in 2014. J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythical world is expansive and extremely detailed, so it’s only natural that there are still many characters and storylines that have yet to be fully explored.

The Lord of the Rings movie franchise has been especially focused on prequel content lately, such as with the popular Prime original The Rings of Power. Set 250 years before the events of the Peter Jackson trilogy, the highly anticipated War of the Rohirrim will take on the same task as The Rings of Power and share new insight into the history of the Middle-earth world. The War of Rohirrim story will focus on the war between the realms of Rohan and Dunland, a conflict that will help make sense of a specific Two Towers scene.

War Of The Rohirrim Will Explain Saruman’s Two Towers Wildmen Scene

The new movie could give a backstory of the Wildmen and Rohirrim conflict

In Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Saruman recruits the Wildmen (also known as Dunlendings) to join his army and sends them to attack Rohan. Saruman’s rallying line about “the horsemen [taking their] land” is evidence enough that there is bad blood between the Rohirrim and the Wildmen, as the Rohirrim are known for their horsemanship. However, further context can – and should – be explored further, with The War of the Rohirrim providing an excellent opportunity for that. The prequel could give specific details as to why the Wildmen are so desperate for revenge, as the clan’s motives are not fleshed out in Two Towers.

One key storyline in The War of the Rohirrim is how the King of Rohan, angered by a threatening demand, kills King Freca, the Dunland king. This certainly paints Freca in a bad light, but the upcoming movie could shed some light on the other Dunlendings before they became the Wildmen. They could naturally be as ruthless and vengeful as they appear in Two Towers, or they could have been forced to become that way, rightfully seeking justice for the loss of their homes.

Lord Of The Rings’ Wildmen Need Explanation

The origin of the Wildmen of Dunland needs to be explored

While the Wildmen’s desire for revenge on Rohan can easily be inferred from this scene, more backstory is needed to fully comprehend their motives. The Orcs in Lord of the Rings were established as Saruman’s army in The Two Towers, so the sudden Wildmen appearance feels random. The alliance between the Wildmen and the wizard is formed very quickly and the men immediately obey and fulfill each of Saruman’s orders.

Between The Rings of Power and now the upcoming War of the Rohirrim, the Lord of the Rings franchise has endless opportunities for more pre-trilogy stories to be told. The inciting conflict between Helm Hammerhand and King Freca sets the rest of Dunland up for disaster, turning them into the Wildmen that appear in the Peter Jackson trilogy. It will be interesting to see how The War of the Rohirrim explores the Wildmen’s origins and how the result of the war makes them susceptible to persuasion in Two Towers.