The Lord of the Rings_ The War of the Rohirrim (2024) Movie Preview

DHLTV

Transcript

00:00 Many of the Lord of the Rings fans were taken by surprise when The War of the Rohirrim was

00:07 announced as an animated film.

00:08 Besides euphoria, there was also a big amount of skepticism regarding the movie, which takes

00:13 place about 260 years before Frodo's journey to Mount Doom.

00:16 As the name The War of the Rohirrim suggests, this time the focus is on a very specific

00:20 group of people, the inhabitants of Rohan, who already played a particular role in the

00:24 two towers.

00:25 The prideful horsemen have surely left a lasting impression on many, which makes the story

00:29 about their background all the more exciting.

00:32 One more reason for us to take a more in-depth look at all the current facts about the production

00:36 and the plot.

00:37 And while not all of you are anime fans, it seems that something very special is waiting

00:41 for us this time.

00:44 Ever since the Amazon series The Rings of Power, if not earlier, we have known about

00:47 the great significance of the ages in Tolkien's world.

00:50 While the First Age ends with the defeat of Margoth, the series is set in the Second Age,

00:54 which concludes with the apparent demise of Sauron.

00:57 The War of the Rohirrim is now set at a very particular time in the Third Age.

01:00 More precisely, in the year 2758, exactly 260 years before Gandalf sends Frodo on his

01:06 way with the Ring.

01:07 This is called the "Time of the Long Winter" because Rohan was completely snow-covered

01:11 for more than five months.

01:13 The makers of the movie obviously rely even more on references to the Norse mythology

01:17 here.

01:18 After all, Rohan was already strongly reminiscent of Viking culture in the old movies.

01:23 The new Lord of the Rings movie is about the big conflict between the Rohirrim and the

01:27 Dunlendings, so here's a quick summary of the meaning of these names.

01:30 The Rohirrim, also known as the Riders of Rohan, are a proud people of humans living

01:34 in the region of Rohan.

01:36 Their history dates back to the First Age of Middle-earth.

01:38 They originally descended from the Northmen, who eventually settled in the area that would

01:42 eventually become Rohan.

01:43 The Rohirrim are famous for their horsemanship and their deeply established horse culture.

01:48 Horses are of crucial importance to them, and the connection between people and horses

01:51 is a central part of their lives.

01:53 They breed and care for horses that are particularly suitable for war.

01:57 The society of the Rohirrim is divided into several kingdoms, with the King of Rohan being

02:01 the supreme ruler.

02:02 The capital of Rohan is Edoras, where the Golden Hall of Meduseld is situated, the king's

02:07 seat.

02:08 The Rohirrim are also known for their love of poetry and their people's ancient language.

02:13 The Dunlendings were originally a tribe of people who lived in the western parts of Rohan

02:17 before the Rohirrim moved into the region.

02:19 The Dunlendings enjoyed a long history and culture before they were displaced by the

02:23 Rohirrim.

02:24 This led to a strong enmity between the two peoples.

02:27 The Dunlendings lived mainly from livestock and agriculture and were widely known as herdsmen.

02:31 Their community was organized into tribes, and they had their own deities and customs.

02:35 The conflict between the Dunlendings and the Rohirrim lasted for centuries.

02:39 The Rohirrim eventually conquered the lands of the Dunlendings and forced them into the

02:42 mountains of Dunland.

02:44 This led to deep resentment and mistrust between the two peoples.

02:47 So it's not surprising that they sided with Saruman during the events of the Lord of the

02:50 Rings trilogy.

02:53 As with most stories from Middle-earth, the general storylines are already known from

02:57 Tolkien's books.

02:58 It remains to be seen whether the creators will fully stick to them and which details

03:01 will be added that have not been mentioned yet.

03:03 Roughly, the story of the War of the Rohirrim is about the following.

03:07 The film is set at a time when the realm of Rohan is again in an intense conflict with

03:11 the Dunlendings.

03:12 Helm Hammerhand is the ninth king of Rohan.

03:14 King Freyja, the leader of the Dunlendings, challenges Helm to marry his daughter Hera

03:18 to his son Wolf, an insult that ultimately leads to a disastrous war between the two

03:22 clans.

03:23 During this dramatic confrontation, a stronghold plays a pivotal role that fans of the Lord

03:28 of the Rings are sure to be very familiar with, Helm's Deep, the scene in an epic battle

03:32 in the Two Towers.

03:33 However, this film does not only put emphasis on the two kings.

03:37 The spotlight is also on their offspring.

03:39 On the one hand, there's the brave Princess Hera, who grows up in the midst of war and

03:42 becomes a fearless warrior.

03:44 On the other hand, there's Wolf, the heir to the throne of Dunland.

03:47 Muscular, armed with an axe, and with a scarred face, he is the main villain of the film.

03:52 The first scenes from the film were already presented at the film festival at Annecy,

03:56 France, this past June.

03:57 As a result, some details about the War of the Rohirrim are known already.

04:00 The movie delves deeper into the culture of the Horseman's People, which is mainly centered

04:04 on warfare.

04:05 Family power structures and conflicts are at the center of the plot, with honor and

04:09 loyalty seen as being more important than wealth and physical possessions.

04:12 In addition, the movie also promises to tell supernatural ghost stories, a theme that can

04:17 fully utilize the possibilities of animation.

04:20 Concept drawings published so far also show impressive depictions of Oliphants and Orcs

04:24 in the thick of battle.

04:25 The images released so far definitely make us eager for more and suggest a dark and serious

04:30 story.

04:31 In the finished film, we can presumably look forward to seeing spectacular scenes and a

04:35 more in-depth portrayal of Tolkien's world.

04:39 The female lead of the movie will be Hera.

04:41 She is the daughter of Helma Hammerhand.

04:43 She was not named in Tolkien's writings, so her character is entirely the work of the

04:47 film's authors.

04:48 By them, however, she is neither described as a warrior princess nor as a princess in

04:52 distress.

04:53 Her main task will be to show the audience Middle-earth from a woman's perspective.

04:57 The first comments about Hera describe her as vulnerable and wild, a somewhat boyish

05:01 character.

05:02 She has red hair and an untidy braid, wears leather armor and wields a sword.

05:06 Gaia Wise will provide the voice of the princess, who is the daughter of actress Emma Thompson.

05:11 Her father, Helm Hammerhand, was the ninth king of Rohan.

05:16 He got his name Hammerhand because of a legendary action that we will probably get to see in

05:20 the new movie.

05:21 Helm is, above all, a very ferocious warrior, dreaded by his enemies and regarded as invulnerable.

05:27 After all, his deeds have gone down in history.

05:29 It's not a coincidence that the fortress Helm's Deep is named after him.

05:33 The king is dubbed by Hollywood star Brian Cox.

05:35 He is experienced in the role of a patriarch, for example, as the head of the family in

05:39 the hit series Succession or as King Agamemnon in Troy.

05:44 The counterpart to Hera is Wolf.

05:46 The king's son travels through Dunland, always looking out for allies in the fight against

05:50 Rohan.

05:51 He is a tall, buff guy with long, ruffled hair, armed with an axe and covered in furs

05:56 and a torn cloak.

05:57 A scar above his eye makes him look like a true barbarian.

06:01 Wolf is voiced by Luke Pasqualino, who most of you will know from the Netflix series Shadow

06:05 and Bone.

06:06 Freyja, Wolf's father, will also have an important role in the story.

06:11 Not only is he powerful, but he is also rich, owning many lands by the Adorn, the river

06:16 that runs through Rohan.

06:17 He also claims to be of noble descent from Dunland, which will prove to be of great importance

06:22 later in the plot.

06:23 Freyja is dubbed by Sean Dooley, whose voice we know from the video game Elden Ring.

06:29 The last character worth knowing is Freyja Loth.

06:31 He is the nephew of Helm Hammerhand.

06:33 During the war, he mainly stays in the mountain fastness Dunharrow, which, similar to Helm's

06:38 Deep, is considered impregnable.

06:40 We don't know how he will enter in the events yet.

06:42 His voice will be provided by a Hollywood newcomer, namely Lawrence Ubong Williams.

06:48 For the movie The War of the Rohirrim, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation are

06:52 in charge of the production.

06:53 The project has already been in the making for almost two years and holds the promise

06:57 of winning the hearts of fans.

06:58 This is because the creative direction is in the hands of the highly respected anime

07:02 director Kenji Kamiyama, who is most associated with cult anime such as Ghost in the Shell

07:07 and Ultraman.

07:08 Kamiyama has also made a name for himself at Warner Bros. before, where he created the

07:12 thrilling anime series Blade Runner Black Lotus.

07:15 The first people to talk about the new Lord of the Rings movie are already stating that

07:18 the animation is very reminiscent of the anime from the 90s.

07:21 But don't worry, the magical spirit of the earlier Lord of the Rings films will probably

07:25 remain in this new work as well.

07:27 Peter Jackson's iconic visions served as a significant inspirational source for countless

07:31 scenes in the upcoming film.

07:33 According to the makers, the challenge was to convert the world and characters into an

07:37 animated style without losing the charm of the original films.

07:40 Daniel Faulkner, the art director of the movies, was instrumental in achieving this goal.

07:45 Together with the creative team, he immersed himself in the archives to find the familiar

07:49 models from the past films and further shape them.

07:52 Unfortunately, we haven't been able to watch a trailer or teaser yet, but there is still

07:55 some time until the movie's release anyway.

07:57 It was recently postponed from April to the end of next year.

08:00 Now, the Lord of the Rings The War of the Rohirrim is scheduled to hit theaters on December

08:04 13th, 2024.

08:05 What are your thoughts?

08:09 Is a Lord of the Rings anime a welcome change?

08:12 Or are you generally fed up with further projects in Tolkien's world?

08:15 And if you could wish for your own spinoff, what would it be about?

08:18 As always, we appreciate the thumbs up and exciting discussions below the video.

08:23 See you next time!

08:23 [music playing]

08:25 [music playing]

08:29 [music playing]

08:32 [music playing]

08:39 you

Category

Transcript

Recommended