Tag: The War of The Rohirrim

'Lord Of The Rings': Writer/Producer Philippa Boyens Open To Exploring More Middle-Earth Stories With Anime Beyond 'War Of The Rohirrim'
Posted on in Film News, News

‘Lord Of The Rings’: Writer/Producer Philippa Boyens Open To Exploring More Middle-Earth Stories With Anime Beyond ‘War Of The Rohirrim’

With “The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power” chugging along its five-season commitment at Amazon Prime Video. a new live-action movie in the works at New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. with Andy Serkis reprising the Gollum role and taking on directing duties (after handling second unit directing on “The Hobbit” films) that takes place before the events of “The Fellowship of The Rings,” and a second mysterious pic that was dismissed as a second part to “The Hunt For Gollum.” Even more Middle-Earth tales could be coming to beyond all that if audiences are keen for it.

Rodrigo Perez of The Playlist recently spoke with Philippa Boyens (“Lord of The Rings” & “The Hobbit” trilogies), co-writer and producer of the feature film franchise and the new anime film “The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim,” and she revealed that more anime adaptations could be on the table.

“There’s a lot of [possibilities], when you look at it, there’s a lot of things in there, actually,” Boyens told The Playlist about adapting more Middle-Earth stories using the medium of anime. “One of the things this [‘War of The Rohirrim’] story has shown us is that a stand-alone story works really successfully within the world of Middle-earth and I would genuinely—because I’ve fallen in love with the form—love to see another anime. But that depends on the audiences out there, your audience, fans of not only the original trilogy but that vast anime audience. I’m really interested to see what they think.”

That’s certainly a positive update from Boyens about future adaptations and should give fans/audiences a bit of hope that everyone involved seems to be invested in more Middle-Earth projects for years to come. Given the appendices allows for more stories to tell, they don’t seem to be short on ideas.

I had personally heard that the producing team was mulling over more anime adaptations, but the studio (that bankrolls projects) would specifically need to see a decent reaction to their animation experiment with “Rohirrim” before making any official announcements. Given the talk that “Rohirrim” was made for under $100 million, there is certainly wiggle room for the film over the holiday season and new year to hit a box office target needed to make the studio/producers comfortable enough with subsequent releases.

Some might remember that “Furiosa,” the “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel released earlier in the year by Warner Bros., was originally planned as an anime film, but was reworked as a live-action one in the end. There is a chance that if “Rohirrim” is successful enough more than Tolkien’s adventures could be used in the medium, but also George Miller’s third “Wasteland” epic could be told in that way as well.

“The War of The Rohirrim” directed by Kenji Kamiyama is heading exclusively to theaters on December 13, and “The Hunt For Gollum” is expected to be ready sometime in 2026 (an actual date has yet to be announced by the studio).

SOURCE: THE PLAYLIST

Posted on in Film News

UPDATE: ‘Lord of The Rings’ Standalone Anime Film ‘War Of The Rohirrim’ Heading To Theaters; Focuses On King Helm Hammerhand

Earlier this week, it was announced that New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation would be teaming for a brand new anime film set within the fantastical world of Middle-Earth created by British author J.R.R. Tolkien. The project will explore the origin’s of Helm’s Deep and King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan.

K̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶H̶e̶l̶m̶ ̶H̶a̶m̶m̶e̶r̶h̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶e̶a̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶M̶i̶d̶d̶l̶e̶-̶E̶a̶r̶t̶h̶:̶ ̶S̶h̶a̶d̶o̶w̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶N̶a̶z̶g̶u̶l̶.̶ ̶O̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶h̶o̶s̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶v̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶D̶a̶r̶k̶ ̶L̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶S̶a̶u̶r̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶H̶o̶b̶b̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶L̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶R̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶i̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶l̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶n̶e̶r̶ ̶B̶r̶o̶s̶.̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶N̶e̶w̶ ̶L̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶C̶i̶n̶e̶m̶a̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶v̶e̶l̶o̶p̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶l̶m̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶r̶a̶c̶t̶e̶r̶.̶ ̶

UPDATE: A producer on the project saw our original headline and has clarified on Twitter they won’t be taking the same liberties with Helm Hammerhand as the video game did and sticking to canon instead. Sorry, for the miscommunication.

The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who is likely best known to folks in the west for his work on the series Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blood: The Last Vampire, and the series Blade Runner: Black Lotus, which has yet to debut.

Below is some examples from Kamiyama’s work.

It’s script will be penned by The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’s Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews alongside Oscar-winning screenwriter Philippa Boyens acting as a consultant.

Below is WarnerMedia’s official press release from this week.

Twenty years after delivering the award-winning “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, based on the iconic books by J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema has partnered with Warner Bros. Animation to produce an original anime feature directed by acclaimed filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama that will plunge fans into a legendary battle that helped shape Middle-earth and set the stage for the epic adventures brought to life in “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy. 

“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” explores and expands the untold story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep, delving into the life and bloodsoaked times of one of Middle-earth’s most legendary figures; the mighty King of Rohan – Helm Hammerhand.

With Kamiyama (the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” TV series) at the helm, the all-new standalone feature is being produced by Joseph Chou (“Blade Runner: Black Lotus” TV series) with Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”) penning the screenplay.  Oscar-winner Philippa Boyens, from the screenwriting team behind “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, is serving as a consultant on the project.

Though a standalone story, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is being created as a companion piece to New Line’s “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, with story and artistic elements woven throughout that will reconnect fans to the excitement and cinematic wonder of Middle-earth.