Warner Bros. has released a new image from the upcoming epic Middle-earth anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
The image features a new look at Héra of Rohan, who is voiced by Gaia Wise. She it the main character in the story and when talking about that, Kenji Kamiyana said: “In Japanese animation, it’s not uncommon for a female protagonist to be the main character, but it’s more rare in the live-action films made from The Lord of the Rings.
“Our film has a strong female lead in Héra, and our story is narrated by the noble Tolkien figure Éowyn, so women are very well represented. I think there are a lot of fans who really like Tolkien’s original work, so I hope those people will enjoy it. Making this movie has been a fun challenge.”
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.”
Screenwriter Philippa Boyens, who wrote Peter Jackson’s live-action films, said: “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim works for anime because it is character-driven and contained within its own world, two things that work beautifully with Japanese storytelling, and there’s no better storyteller in this medium than Kenji Kamiyama.”
The rest of the voice cast includes Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand the king of Rohan, Luke Pasqualino as Wulf, Lorraine Ashbourne (Netflix’s Bridgerton), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (BBC One’s World on Fire), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), Shaun Dooley (Netflix’s The Witcher), Michael Wildman (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Bilal Hasna (BBC’s Sparks), and Janine Duvitski (ITV’s Benidorm).
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim hits theaters on December 13th.
