When it comes to expansions of The Lord of the Rings
franchise, I'm much more inclined to embrace The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim
what The Hunt for Gollum. At this stage in Hollywood's intellectual property era, studios have become so afraid of upsetting fans that new movies and shows treat old ones like sacred texts. The more familiar ground is retread, the more the reverence intensifies. An anime telling an independent story from two centuries earlier The Lord of the Rings gives me more hope than a live action film set in the middle of Brotherhood.
I welcome Andy Serkis to prove me wrong in 2026. For now, though, I'm happy that Rohirrim director Kenji Kamiyama did his best to prove me right. If I occasionally came across references to the original that didn't seem entirely necessary, I was very pleased to see that this film had the opportunity to be its own thing and that the filmmakers took advantage of it. It's a strong, engaging story that features some impressive animationand if I am to return to the wider world of Peter Jackson's Middle-earth, this seems like an ideal way to do so.
The War of the Rohirrim Uses Familiarity to Its Advantage
Without trying hard to subvert expectations
The War of the Rohirrim is established for us as part of a tradition of oral storytelling: Éowyn (Miranda Otto), the unforgettable heroine of Jackson's trilogy, introduces us to Héra (Gaia Wise), another fierce daughter of Rohan. We are told that although Héra accomplishes many important things, her story will not be found in any written record. Cynically, both choices are smart franchise management – an original star returns via voiceover and the script points to the unnamed protagonist in Tolkien's Middle-earth stories.
But the filmmakers wisely use this structure to give the film a real identity. The opening of Éowyn draws attention to the little-publicized roles of women (as the franchise calls them) in the Realms of Men, which Kamiyama takes on as a recurring theme. Furthermore, he puts Rohirrim in a legendary record, and legends work in patterns. Any directness of story or character becomes a feature, not a bug, and any echoes of stories we know feel intentional and resonant.
Even though the details escape us, we intuitively know the rhythm of the story that will follow, but that doesn't make it any less engaging.
Héra is much wilder than Éowyn when we first met her. Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), his father and the powerful, aging king of Rohan, has provided him with a level of independence that borders on scandal. But, as the familiar story goes, his desire for freedom is about to clash with royal duty. At a meeting of Rohan's vassals in Helm's halls, Freca (Shaun Dooley), an ambitious lord of the wild Dunlendings, confronts the king with a rumor: Helm intends to marry Héra to one of the sons of Gondor, solidifying a tenuous alliance with the great kingdom to the south.
This, of course, comes as a surprise to Héra. As well as Freca's offer to marry Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), his son and her childhood friend. In private, she tries to disappoint him easily; she has no intention of getting married. But Freca is making a more transparent bid for the throne, and Helm suggests they take him out. The Dunlendings' overconfidence is fatal. After delivering a series of helpless blows and hurling insults, he is accidentally killed by the enraged King with a single punch.
This proves the inciting incident of the titular war. Wulf, who immediately tries to avenge his father, is banished from Rohan, and years pass with no trace of where he ended up. But during this period, he built an army of wild men and mercenaries to exact revenge. He's coming not just for the throne, but for Helm, his children Hama (Yazdan Qafouri) and Haleth (Benjamin Wainwright), and, of course, the woman who scorned him.
This anime adaptation puts its visual style in the spotlight
And tells your story as well as necessary
Tolkien based his world of Middle-earth on Norse, Celtic, Old English, and Welsh mythologies, and The War of the Rohirrim play in the right tone feel aligned with this tradition. Even though the details escape us, we intuitively know the rhythm of the story that will follow, but that doesn't make it any less engaging. For me, at least, it meant I could more easily indulge in the tragic lows and the triumphant highs.
Given the franchise element, there were undoubtedly limits applied to character design and production… But Kamiyama works within these limits to deliver beautiful, impactful images that promote key themes.
Héra is a born heroine, intelligent and courageous, and it is only the restrictions of her world that hold her back. Wulf, in turn, is a villain – having known him as a boy, Héra struggles to accept who he has become. This conflict creates the conditions for change, and her rise reflects not only Éowyn's The Lord of the Ringsbut the descent of Wulf. As fun as it is to subvert expectations, embracing more traditional arcs for the pro and antagonist feels right for this film.
Outside of the mechanics of the story, The War of the Rohirrim performs well. Its strongest asset, as you'd expect, is its animation. Given the franchise element, there were undoubtedly limits applied to character design and production, and the film feels like an anime version of the world of Jackson's films. But Kamiyama works within these limits to provide beautiful and effective images that promote the main themes. The grandeur of live-action films becomes mythical tableaus that I could easily imagine woven into a tapestry and hung in the great hall of Edoras.
The voice performances are robust enough to carry the film along, though only Cox leaves a lasting impression. He gives Helm Hammerhand the kind of wealth and power that sells him as a figure to be remembered in song. I would have liked to see similar depth in the other lead performances, but there's nothing to detract from the experience of the moment, just the film's ability to stay in time.
Even so, The War of the Rohirrim It's a film I'd be happy to return to. If Warner Bros. continue to exploit this property for all its worth, as it undoubtedly will, I hope they continue to adopt this approach, ideally with less of a mandate for callbacks. It would be nice to see more animators getting the chance to filter this and other franchises through their imaginations.
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim opens in cinemas nationwide on Friday, December 13th. The film is 134 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for strong violence.
- It’s about expanding a franchise the right way
- Leverages oral tradition to tell a compelling, self-contained story
- Beautifully animated and spotted with stunning imagery
- Occasionally burdened by ties to Peter Jackson's LOTR films
- Vocal performances are more useful than memorable