For Lord of the Rings fans, the announcement of pretty much any new addition in the franchise is good news. Inevitably, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim feature films has already gotten fans talking, especially since it's currently in the making, meaning we have next to no confirmed visuals at the moment. So, is The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim going to be a live-action film?
As it turns out, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim isn't going to be a live-action film – or even part of an Anglocentric medium at all; rather, the forthcoming film is going to be an anime. While little is known regarding the voice actors, we do know that it is going to be directed by Kenji Kamiyama.
The Japanese director is known for iconic anime such as Eden of the East, Napping Princess, 009 Re: Cyborg, Ghost I the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: The Laughing Man, and others. It is believed that the new Lord of the Rings film will be treated with the utmost care, especially since LotR media can add to the canon without contradicting it.
The anime film will take place in Rohan, one of the most memorable locations in the book. The focus will be on Helm Hammerhand, a legendary king of Rohan who reigned 25o years before the events of The Lord of the Rings – but it's still very much canon and part of the Lord of the Rings book, based on appendixes found towards the end.
With both the anime and the Amazon tv series being in the making, this is an exciting time for Tolkien fans – although the anticipation might be mingled with some wariness, as we want to make sure all media will do justice to the amazing world Tolkien has created.
Conversely, this isn't the first time Middle Earth is animated. Those who remember the 1978 animation will tell you so. Of course, it is the first time something by Tolkien is made into a Japanese anime, but the practice of making classic works of Anglophone literature into anime used to be quite common, especially in the 90s and early 00s. Perhaps it's time to revive it.
As of June 2022, the full English-speaking cast of voice actors was announced for the animated film. Cast members include Brian Cox in the role of Helm Hammerhand, Gaia Wise as his daughter, Hera, and even Miranda Otto, one of the most famous characters from Rohan! Otto will reprise her role as Eowyn and she'll be the story's narrator.
Other cast members include Luke Pasqualino in the role of Wulf, Helm's antagonist, as well as Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafour, Benjamin Wainwright, Shaun Dooley, Laurence Ubong William, Michael Wildman, Bilal Hasna, Jude Akuwudike, and Janine Duvitski.
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Lord of the Rings