“Lord of the Rings” fans have plenty to celebrate this year, including a forthcoming Amazon series and the 20th anniversary of “The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.”
And now, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation are working together to make an anime accompaniment to the notable “LOTR” films, Deadline reported Thursday.
The new animated project, “The War of the Rohirrim,” will center around the King of Rohan’s epic battle with Helm Hammerhand. This film is positioned as a prequel to the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, according to Deadline, set 250 years prior. Ringers, as fans are called, are thrilled this specific battle will finally be on the big screen since there will be an extensive exploration into the Helm’s Deep fortress.
Fans of the trilogy aren’t the only ones excited for another J.R.R. Tolkien creation, either.
“All of us at New Line feel a deep affinity for the extraordinary world J.R.R. Tolkien created, so the opportunity to dive back into Middle-earth with the team at Warner Bros. Animation is a dream come true,” New Line and Warner Bros. Pictures Group told Deadline in a joint statement. “Fans know Helm’s Deep as the stage for one of the greatest battles ever put to film and, with many of the same creative visionaries involved and the brilliant Kenji Kamiyama at the helm, we couldn’t be more excited to deliver a fresh vision of its history that will invite global audiences to experience the rich, complex saga of Middle-earth in a thrilling new way.”
Sola Entertainment will be spearheading the animation work, Kamiyama will be directing and Philippa Boyens, co-writer of the trilogy, will be a consultant on the production. It is notable that Kamiyama is directing this feature given his acclaimed work in the anime genre, including “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” and “Blade Runner: Black Lotus.”
“LOTR” fans are also bracing for Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” series, which began filming in New Zealand before the pandemic interrupted production. Amazon has already renewed the show for a Season 2 ahead of Season 1 and rights reportedly cost a whopping $250 million.