New Lord Of The Rings Movie: Is War Of The Rohirrim

New Lord Of The Rings Movie: Is War Of The Rohirrim Connected To The Movies Or Show?

With The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim on the way, questions have abounded about the upcoming film’s relationship with the Lord of the Rings movies and the Rings of Power TV show. War of the Rohirrim is an animated Lord of the Rings prequel film that will tell the story of Helm Hammerhand and the founding of Helm’s Deep during a war between the people of Rohan and an army of Dunlendings. The work will be the first animated Lord of the Rings movie to be theatrically released since Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 The Lord of the Rings.

The film is directed by anime industry heavyweight Kenji Kamiyama, known for his work on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Blade Runner: Black Lotus, promising excitement for both Tolkien and anime fans with his impressive track record.

In a marketplace of Lord of the Rings content crowded by Amazon’s ongoing The Rings of Power streaming show, War of the Rohirrim’s relationship to other J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations isn’t necessarily clear. The film’s prequel status immediately calls The Rings of Power to mind, but the presumed connection is complicated by a deeper investigation of the team behind the film. War of the Rohirrim’s similarities and differences to the Amazon Prime Video series and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy require unpacking.

The War Of The Rohirrim Is Seemingly Connected To Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings Movies

Confirmed elements of the upcoming Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim indicate that the film is connected to the Peter Jackson trilogy, consisiting of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). The biggest clue that the works are connected is their shared production companies; Warner Bros. and New Line, the studios behind Jackson’s trilogy, are also producing The War of the Rohirrim. What’s more, the film will see continuity with Jackson’s films through The War of the Rohirrim's returning Lord of the Rings cast member; Miranda Otto is reportedly reprising her role as Éowyn to serve as narrator for the upcoming film.

The War Of The Rohirrim Is Not Tied To Prime Video's The Rings Of Power Show

The complex rights of J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate mean that The War of the Rohirrim is not connected to Prime Video’s The Rings of Power. While Amazon has the rights to TV adaptations of Tolkien’s Middle Earth works, the rights to produce theatrically-distributed Lord of the Rings movies are held by Warner Bros (via Deadline). While The Rings of Power and The War of the Rohirrim are both positioned as prequels to the events of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, they occupy very different positions along the Middle Earth timeline.

While The Rings of Power's timeline takes place a minimum of 4,959 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the animated prequel The War of the Rohirrim takes place roughly 200 years prior. The works will also see very different levels of scale, since War of the Rohirrim follows only one event in Middle Earth’s history, whereas The Rings of Power’s timeline encompasses thousands of years. Nevertheless, the distinct works may be brought into competition, since Rings of Power’s showrunner stated in 2022 that the season would take “another couple of years,” bringing its release timeline dangerously close to the December 2024 release date of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.