Tolkien fans will have to wait a bit for the next animated adventure in Middle-earth, as Warner Bros. Discovery has bumped The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim from its previously announced April 12 release date to December 13, 2024. The shift is reportedly the result of several major franchise flick date shifts prompted by the actors’ strike.
Set 183 years before the events of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, The War of the Rohirrim revolves around the legendary King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), and his ill-fated house. When the ruthless Dunlending King Wulf launches a sudden attack, Helm and his people make a daring last stand at the ancient stronghold of Hornburg — later known as Helm’s Deep. The hero of the tale is Helm’s daughter, Hera (Gaia Wise), who must summon the strength and will to resist a terrible enemy.
During the film’s Comic-Con presentation, executive producer Phillipa Boyens (part of the screenwriting team of the LOTR and Hobbit trilogies) described the pic as a story about “the wreckage of war” that turns into one of “supernatural grief.”
The voice cast also features Miranda Otto, Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna and Janine Duvitski.
Award-winning filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series) directs, with Joseph Chou (Blade Runner: Black Lotus) producing. The writing team of Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou penned the screenplay based on a script from Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews. The Lord of the Rings returning creative team also includes Oscar winner Richard Taylor and esteemed Tolkien illustrator John Howe.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim is produced by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation, with animation by Sola Entertainment (Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Ultraman, Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045).
The chain of events that pushed Helm and his epic battle back was sparked by WBD’s need to delay the release of Dune: Part Two due to the unavailability of actors to promote the film during the SAG-AFTRA strike. The Denis Villeneuve sequel has been moved from November 3 to March 15, 2024. The spring release date was snatched from Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which takes Rohirrim‘s April 12 slot.
[Source: Deadline]
