Fans of the world of Middle-earth can actually look forward to a lot of new content in 2024. The series The Rings of Power received a second season, and now in December, a new movie will be released in theaters. The anime The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of the Rohirrim consciously avoids well-known elements.
What is The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of the Rohirrim? The anime film takes place over 200 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings and tells the story of the Rohirrim, who live as a horse-riding people in Rohan. The focus is on Helm Hammerhand, who must defend himself and his people against the Dunlendings.
The film is directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who has directed several projects in the Ghost in the Shell franchise and has been active in the anime scene for years. He also worked in the animation department on the anime classic Akira.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of the Rohirrim differs significantly in approach from The Rings of Power. The producer explains in an interview why they are incorporating fewer elements from the films.
It is meant to be a standalone story
What does the producer say? In light of the upcoming release, the film’s producer Philippa Boyens spoke with SFX magazine (via gamesradar.com). There, he talked about the approach to the stories and elements known from the books and films. They consciously wanted to distance themselves from familiar characters and items.
One of the reasons I have continually asked myself what our excursion back into the world of Middle-earth could look like is that we did not want it to involve the Dark Lords or the Rings, and that it could be a standalone story that does not necessarily involve characters we already know, but revolves around entirely new characters.
Philippa Boyens about The Battle of the Rohirrim
To ensure that the film works as an independent movie and standalone story, they wanted to omit characters like Sauron or powerful objects like the Rings. This also has the advantage of not violating parts of the lore. A point that many fans dislike about The Rings of Power.
According to Boyens, they chose the Rohirrim because they have always been fascinated by them as humans. Such a story would function independently in animated form. The story of Helm Hammerhand immediately came to mind when an anime film was suggested to them.
When will The Battle of the Rohirrim be released? The film will be released on December 12, 2024, in regular cinemas in Germany. This is the 10th film in the Tolkien universe, and it will not be the last. Several projects are currently still in the works. We have summarized all films in the ranking here: All 9 films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit ranked – Which one is the best?
