The War Of The Rohirrim Hitting Digital On December 27

After a failed box office run of only two weeks, The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim will become available for rent or purchase on the various digital home streaming services (Prime Video, AppleTV, Fandango at Home, etc.) starting December 27. 

The movie will remain in theaters for probably a few more weeks but if you wanted to see the film and going to a theater was too much trouble, now you can. The $30 million production so far has a worldwide box office total of $15.5 million and unlikely to crack $20 million. Not really sure what killed the film but best guess is interest in Middle-Earth's past in animation style just doesn't interest the masses. 

The commercial failure is unlikely to have any impact on The Hunt For Gollum since it will be using more famous Middle-Earth characters but chances are whatever further animation plans that may have been in the works have been tossed.

War Of The Rohirrim Physical Copies of Soundtrack Available for Pre-Order

Physical copies of The Lord Of The Rings: War Of The Rohirrim Soundtrack by Stephen Gallagher is now available to pre-order on Made By Mutant or Amazon. The soundtrack is also available on music streaming services now. The vinyl 4 LP edition ($~60) is currently showing a release date of March 7, 2025 while the 2 CD set (~$20) may come out that day or a week earlier on February 28, 2025. Below is one of the tracks from the soundtrack.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Music by Stephen Gallagher. Featuring the original song "The Rider," performed by Paris Paloma. Pressed on 4x 140gm Vinyl, housed in an M-Pack (double gatefold) style jacket. Also available on 2x CD, housed in a 6-panel digipak with a 24-page booklet. Featuring liner notes by Producer/Writer Philippa Boyens, Director Kenji Kamiyama, and Composer Stephen Gallagher Mutant, in partnership with WaterTower Music, is proud to present the premiere physical release of Stephen Gallagher's original score to the animated epic The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, in theaters December 13.

Reviews for The War of the Rohirrim

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is coming out this Friday. Critics had a chance to see the movie and the results are up the middle with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 65%. Way I would describe the reviews is they (unfairly) are comparing it to the high bar of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and not on its own merits. What they seem to describe is an entertaining movie that occasionally gets slow (so did the tirlogy), great visuals, good voice acting, great music, and story that if not part of this franchise would probably be getting higher scores.

Here are a few samples from various reviews.

"The War of the Rohirrim has a dynamite, exciting, and sweeping first act as well as a jaw-dropping, awesome third act. It’s a massive story and so, so much happens in it you frankly can’t believe they were able to stuff it all into one movie. The problem, however, is the middle of the film where things drag considerably. When Hera and the Rohan find themselves stuck in Helm’s Deep, the film slows down to a screeching halt. In a way, that change of pace mirrors the story of the film, but even so, it can be a major slog. Thankfully, when it picks up again, the finale more or less makes up for it." - Gizmodo

"Although not hitting us emotionally on the scale of the live-action films, Kamiyama has produced a visual landscape that at times, through use of motion capture, models and hand-drawn animation, do register a striking visual motif, not what we have previously associated with the cinematic efforts at Tolkien, but a world of its own merged with more allegiance to Jackson than J.R.R. The question is will fans buy it?" - Deadline

"The character drama compels here as much as in the live-action films. This is largely due to Kamiyama’s shrewd storytelling sense and how he stages large action scenes against emotional powerhouse moments. A word of praise for the animation team: how beautifully these artists stage the sweeping vistas of Middle-earth!" - The One Ring

"...the elephant in the room, in part because there’s an elephant involved (it sneaks up on Héra like a slasher villain — it’s hilarious), is the animation quality. The first shot of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is of an unconvincing CGI landscape while an eagle with a surprisingly low frame-rate soars in the foreground. ...The characters are generic, but the main ones get the job done. ...Still, one has to admit that “The War of the Rohirrim” wears you down after a while. The experience is not unlike watching a community theater production of a Shakespeare tragedy. After you get used to the low production values and wonky performances, you can’t help but get a little swept up in it. By the time the climax rolls around you’re actually invested. Unfortunately, by the time the credits roll, they’ve already lost you again." - The Wrap

"It's equally as surprising, then, that this curio is more of a mixed bag than an outright disaster or an unqualified masterpiece. Instead, it's stuck in an awkward liminal space between extremes. "The War of the Rohirrim" is a dazzling feast for the eyes, delivering stunning visuals like nothing we've ever seen in "The Lord of the Rings" before. The new characters all make instant impressions and undergo satisfying arcs, caught up in an interfamily drama worthy of any Shakespearean tragedy. And as soon as the first violin strings of Howard Shore's distinctive Rohan theme kick in, it's as if no time at all has passed since we last visited the rolling plains of the horse-lords. Yet, for everything this venture has going for it, "The War of the Rohirrim" is too small-scale to feel properly epic. It never escapes the sinking realization that none of this becomes as visceral, essential, or event-sized as the previous movies." - Slashfilm

The War of the Rohirrim Eight Minute Clip

Below is an eight minute clip from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim that gives you a good feel for the look of the movie, few characters and story execution. The movie will hit theaters next Friday on December 13.

The War of the Rohirrim New Story Featurette

Here is a new video that briefly discusses the story of the The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim with some new footage from the film and comments from Brian Cox and Gaia Wise.

New TV Spot for War of the Rohirrim

 Here is a new TV spot for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim that will hit theaters on December 13.

The War of the Rohirrim First TV Spot

Here is the first TV spot for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim that is hitting theaters on December 13.

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Christopher Lee Voices Saruman in War of the Rohirrim

Turns out that not only does Saruman the White makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, but he will be voiced by the actor that played him in the movies - the late, great Christopher Lee. The news come from a video by TheOneRing.net with movie writer and producer Phillipa Boyens. The voice is not done with AI but using alternate takes from Lee saying the line "Are you in need of assistance, my Lady?” to Galadriel in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

New Poster for The War of the Rohirrim

Here is the latest poster for The Lord of the Rings: The Lord of the Rohirrim that will hit theaters on December 13. Makes me wonder if a new trailer is coming soon.

NYCC: The War of Rohirrim Making of Tapestry BTS

Here is a behind the scenes video from Warner Bros. that looks into the concept that went into creating the tapestry revealed during the New York Comic-Con this weekend. You can download the artwork and official gifs related to the movie here. Click the image below if want to see a bigger version of it. The movie will hit theaters on December 13.

Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim Poster

Not sure if this is a sign of a second trailer is coming but here is the official poster for "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" that is set to hit theaters on December 13. A synopsis of the film:

The film tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm (Brian Cox) and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg – a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep.

Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra (Gaia Wise), the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Official Trailer

At long last here if the first trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim which will hit theaters on December 13. The animated movie acts as a sort of origin story for Helm's Deep. The synopsis says "Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg— a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction." The second video is a breakdown of the trailer. If interested there is also Japanese trailer that has other scenes not shown in the American one. The breakdown of it is here.

First Images from War of the Rohirrim

Warner Bros. has released the first images from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim that provides a look at some of the characters and the art style of the animated movie set for release on December 13. The images were released as part of a 20 minute preview of the film that was shown to an audience at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. 

The film tells the story of Helm's Deep, set around 200 years before the pivotal battle in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at the same location. During this time, the location becomes a final stand for Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) and his people against an invading force. 

The first image is for Hèra Hammerhand (Gaia Wise), the rebellious daughter of Helm and central to the battle to ends up unfolding. The second image is Wulf (Luke Pasqualino) who leads the armies of Dunlendings against Helm's kingdom. The last image of the Hammerhand family with Hèra, Helm, Haleth (Benjamin Wainwright) and Hama (Yazdan Qafouri). You can read a little more about the characters with writer Philippa Boyens here.

Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Release Delayed

Warner Bros. has announced that The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim has been delayed from April 12, 2024 to December 13, 2024. The delay is a domino effect from an over all schedule change to their release schedule Dune: Part Two has been bumped from later this year to March 15, 2024 which led the film that was occupying that spot, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire being moved to April 12.

The Dune 2 delay was caused by WB not wanting to release the film without the cast participating in marketing the film which they will not be able to do due until the strike ends. The change is probably for the better as all the previous Lord of the Rings films were released for the Christmas season to great success. On paper, the movie's competition for that weekend is a new Karate Kid movie (not related to Cobra Kai TV series), but that film's production was delayed due to the strike so chances are high the movie could get released without any meaningful competition.

The War of the Rohirrim is an anime movie directed by Kenji Kamiyama that is essentially the origin story of Helm's Deep, the stronghold of the epic fight scene in The Two Towers. It is set 183 years before the Fellowship of the Ring when Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), king of the Rohan, must make a last stand of Horburg (aka Helm's Deep) against a vicious attack of their enemies led by Wulf. The story is taken from the Lord of the Rings appendices with multiple people behind The Lord of the Rings trilogy working on the film including Philippa Boyens as executive producer, and creative minds Alan Lee, Richard Taylor and long time Tokien illustrator John Howe helping with the look of the film. WB has released nearly nothing about the film besides some voice cast info, the summary and release date.

Warner Bros Renews Lord of the Rings Movie Rights

Warner Bros has reached an agreement with the new owner of The Lord of the Rings movie rights. Embracer Group, a Swedish media holding company, bought Middle-Earth Enterprises from the previous owner Saul Zaentz who had died granting them ownership of the rights. The new deal, whose terms was not released, allows Warner Bros to continue to make movies based on material found in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books including the Appendixes where there is of rich detail to mine about the world of Middle-Earth. 

This has no impact on Amazon's The Power of the Rings as that was the rights for TV. WB was already working on movies within the franchise with the announced animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim that is set 183 years before that tells the story of Helm's Deep (the location of the big battle in The Two Towers) and currently set for release on April 12, 2024. This just means there will likely be more movies set at different points in Middle-Earth history. Considering the age of the Hobbit and LOTR cast, its doubtful that any plans will involve them. There is also rumors of remakes of the LOTR trilogy but that seems unlikely too as the first trilogy remains a cash cow for the company.

The creators of the movie trilogies, Peter Jackson and his writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens said “Warner Brothers and Embracer have kept us in the loop every step of the way. We look forward to speaking with them further to hear their vision for the franchise moving forward.” This does not mean the team is producing a new movie, more then likely it was a gesture of respect with hope it might wet their appetite to consider working on the franchise once again.

Voice Cast Announced for The War of the Rohirrim

New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation has finally revealed a little more information after announcing The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim animated movie back in February. Now we have the voice cast and how they plan to bridge it a little bit to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Brian Cox (Succession) will provide the voice for King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhead who leads his people from by using their ancient fortress Hornburg as protection (later renamed Helm's Deep). Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer) will voice Lord Wulf, the leader of Dunlending seeking revenge for the death of his father Freca. Gaia Wise (A Walk in the Woods) will voice Hammerhead's daughter Hera who will "lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction."

Mirando Otto (Lord of the Rings trilogy) will reprise her role in animated form as Eowyn who will narrate the tale. Other members of the voice cast are Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright (Gangs of London), Laurence Ubong Williams (The Capture), Shaun Dooley (The Witcher), Michael Wildman (Emmerdale Farm), Jude Akuwudike (Manhunt), Bilal Hasna and Janine Duvitski (Benidorm) whose characters were not provided.

The image above is concept art provided from the film showing Helm Hammerhead and might be based on a bit from The Lord of the Rings: Appendix A. Click this link for the quote if fine with a significant story spoiler.

The film will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama (various Ghost in the Shell movies) from script by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) with Executive Producer Philippa Boyens and Producer Joseph Chou (Blade Runner: Black Lotus). Main difference between executive producer and producer is one brings the money to the table while the other handles the day to day to make sure that money is spent well. Alan Lee and John Howe (creators of all that wonderful LOTR and Hobbit trilogy art used to promote film and seen at end of Return of the King) along with Richard Taylor (led the special effects team on LOTR trilogy) will also be involved.  The film is aiming for an April 12, 2024 theatrical release so have a long wait.

Of interest to me is most of the cast are virtual unknowns, unusual for major Hollywood animated film release. Personally I have always thought paying "A-list" actors for voice roles was silly when many highly capable voice actors and new actors are available and likely to do as good or better job. In animation story is king, A movie can do well with meh art and voice but will always fail if the story is bad. Most of the time its because its impossible to get an animated film's voice A-list cast in a room together because of other things they are doing and their window of availability to do the voice work is often measured in hours so it becomes a case of get what they can, while they can. This is why when asked how was it working with the other actors on the animated film, their answers are usually very wordy versions of "I didn't." Hopefully the director will take advantage of good chance they can get this cast in the room together to bounce off each other which will make scenes come alive more than just acting at a page and microphone

Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Anime Movie Moved to 2024

The mysterious Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim anime movie that Warner Bros was planning has been bumped to April 12, 2024 from some other date. It was initially announced in Summer 2021. 

The series is not related to Amazon Prime's Power of the Rings. The way the Middle-Earth rights are currently setup, WB gets to make movies set in the Third Age while Amazon gets to make TV set in the Second Age. This doesn't mean they can't use each other's look and feel and attempt to maintain a consistent continuity, it just means they have defined lanes to stay in.

On bright side at least we got this single bit of concept art out if the news. According to io9, the image depicts the Rohirrim "at war with the Haradrim, since that’s a Mûmakil smashing through the wooden walls of Rohan’s capital Edoras." Mûmakil is another name for Oliphaunt. 

The story is set around 200 years before The Hobbit, with a focus on King of Rohan Helm Hammerhand and the creation of Helm's Deep, the fortress that was under seige for most of The Two Towers. The film is directed by Kinji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus). LOTR trilogy co-writer Philippa Boyens is executive producer on the project with her daughter Phoebe Gittins co-writing the film with Arty Papageorgiou from a script created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (both wrote for  (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance TV series). No voice cast has been announced.

Lord of the Rings Prequel Anime Movie Coming to Theaters

New Line and Warner Animation have announced a new prequel anime movie to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies called "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim."  The film is still in its early stages of pre-production but Rings trilogy writer Philippa Boyens will be a consult on the project. No indication yet if Rings director Peter Jackson or other writer Fran Walsh will be involved.  The project will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Eden of the East, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex).

The story is set around 250 years before The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to tell the story of Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan and namesake of Helm's Deep. Its not based on any book but rather the appendices and other information gleamed about the the character and battle site via the Appendices. No release date announced but best case is 1 year from now, more likely scenario is 2023.