excerpts

This project is going back to the franchise’s cinematic roots and will be an animated fantasy film. Warner Bros. Animation and New Line Cinema are partnering with Sola Entertainment to bring this animated adaptation to the big screen. It seems the film will have both Lord of the Rings and anime influence inspiring it, as notable anime direct Kenji Kamiyama is set to direct and The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films’ co-writer, Philippa Boyen, will serve as executive producer.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will premiere on December 13, 2024. However, it was initially set to premiere on April 12, 2024, with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. reportedly fast-tracking the film to get it released by early 2024. Due to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike, though, the film has been delayed for 10 months. The delay was due to Warner Bros. mixing up its entire release schedule due to the ongoing strike.

Hence, the film will largely focus on the story of Rohan and its ninth King, Hammerhand. Hammerhand was a legendary king, but his reign was rife with chaos as his kingdom faced warfare with the Dunlendings. In particular, the film will explore how Hammerhand defeated Freca, one of the lords of the Dunlendings, who sought the throne of Rothan. However, this incident led Wulf, Freca’s son, to set out in search of vengeance against Hammerhand and the Kingdom of Rohan.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.