When does ‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ release, and what is it about?

News of a new Lord of the Rings release has audiences hyped for a second season of Amazon Prime’s Rings of Power. The show remains the subject of online discourse, as eager fans look ahead to its future with a mix of excitement and apprehension. As bad as we all want more Lord of the Rings content, a pervasive fear that it will remain sub-par overshadows the excitement most fans feel.

With all the furor surrounding Rings of Power, a second Lord of the Rings project largely flew under the radar for months. While most audiences have their gazes firmly fixed on Rings of Power, a second project, titled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is nearing release.

What is War of the Rohirrim about?

War of the Rohirrim is set to depart from established Lord of the Rings mediums, presenting its story in animated form, rather than live-action. A prequel film set nearly two centuries before the Lord of the Rings trilogy takes place, the flick takes aim at the stronghold Helm’s Deep. It’s set to explain the history of this vitally important military stronghold, and tell the story of its namesake, Helm Hammerhand. 

War of the Rohirrim voice cast

Specific details about the cast working to bring Helm Hammerhand’s contested and bloody rule to life are still scarce, but a few major names are officially attached to the project. The flick takes place several centuries before the events of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, but the involvement of Miranda Otto, our longstanding Éowyn, indicates that a voiceover may link its events to the popular Peter Jackson films.

Joining Otto among the voice cast are the talented Brian Cox, of Succession fame, who’s slated to play Helm Hammerhand himself, The Witcher‘s Shaun Dooley, and Snowpiercer‘s Luke Pasqualino. Dooley and Pasqualino were tapped to play Freca and Wulf, respectively, alongside Cox’s Hammerhand and Gaia Wise’s Hèra. They’re joined by Janine Duvitski, Lorraine Ashbourne, Michael Wildman, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Williams, and Yazdan Qafouri, according to IMDb. Few of the extended cast have characters attached to their names just yet, but we can expect plenty of iconic Middle Earth favorites to make their debut in the franchise’s first animated project in decades.

Details about the characters these talented stars are set to portray started rolling out a few months ahead of the film’s release, instantly sparking interest among longtime Lord of the Rings fans. The most fascination was inarguably stirred up by Gaia Wise’s Hèra, the “fierce,” “complex,” and “rebellious” heroine of the story.

Wise discussed her character’s similarity — or lack thereof — to other LOTR heroines in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. She noted that Hèra is far less like other Lord of the Rings heroines like Arwen and Eowyn and more like classic anime heroines like Nausicaä.

Equally as intriguing is Luke Pasqualino’s antagonist, the “exceptionally great” Wulf. The character’s been described as “fascinating” and utterly captivating by the team behind War of the Rohirrim, with producer Philippa Boyens even describing him as “one of my favorite antagonists to have written across all of the films I’ve worked on.”

When does War of the Rohirrim release?

The Lord of the Rings franchise has a tendency to release content in the Winter months, a trend that War of the Rohirrim clearly intends to maintain. All of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films released in December, Rings of Power dropped in early September, and War of the Rohirrim is sticking to those same trends with its planned Dec. 13, 2024 release.

Will War of the Rohirrim be on streaming?

News about where War of the Rohirrim will land following its theatrical run is still scarce, but subscribers to Amazon Prime are likely in luck. The subscription service already offers up each of the existing Lord of the Rings films, and is prepped to introduce viewers to the Second Age via its upcoming Rings of Power series. War of the Rohirrim will likely land on the service as well, following its late 2024 theatrical run.