War of the Rohirrim‘s First Trailer Is a Rallying Return to Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth

We’re connected the precipice of more Lord of the Rings than we’ve had successful decades—Rings of Power is astir to instrumentality to Amazon, and Warner Bros. is toiling away connected aggregate Lord of the Rings spinoff films. One of which, War of the Rohirrim, is coming this twelvemonth and looks dissimilar thing we’ve seen from Middle-earth successful a precise agelong time. But that won’t halt Warner Bros. from reminding you that this caller spot of Lord of the Rings comes from the imaginativeness that gave you the Lord of the Rings you already truly like.

It’s possibly telling that this reminder is present from the get-go successful the precise archetypal authoritative trailer for War of the Rohirrim, a caller animated movie prequel coming this wintertime from anime manager Kenji Kamiyama, known for his enactment connected Ghost successful the Shell: Standalone Complex, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, and more. The trailer doesn’t unfastened with immoderate of that, nor adjacent a reminder that you’re watching a trailer for a Lord of the Rings animated film. Instead, it opens with footage from The Two Towers, the blaring horns of Howard Shore’s legendary Rohan leitmotif from the film, and a reminder: you are backmost in Peter Jackson’s version of Middle-earth.

At slightest erstwhile the trailer really gets into the the movie it’s astir alternatively than the films its connected to, we get thing that looks precise chill indeed. Set 200 years earlier the opening of the War of the Ring, War of the Rohirrim focuses connected the regularisation of the legendary Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox, and the King of Rohan who gave Helm’s Deep its name), and the governmental games astatine play successful Rohan arsenic his regularisation is beset by struggle with Dunlendings.

Most notably we spot that struggle framed done Helm’s young daughter, Hèra (voiced by Gaia Wise), arsenic she finds herself taxable to matrimony proposals and governmental intrigue contempt longing to assistance her begetter combat to unafraid their kingdom. There’s a batch that’s acquainted here, for each of War of the Rohirrim‘s trappings truthful acold earlier the events of Lord of the Rings. Edoras looks overmuch arsenic it did successful the films, there’s Oliphaunts, eagles, adjacent a Watcher successful the Water, and yes, determination does so adjacent look to beryllium immoderate benignant of conflict astatine Helm’s Deep, if not the conflict we each cognize and love. It’s a batch of acquainted aesthetics, done successful a benignant we’ve ne'er truly seen it rendered successful before, which is absorbing to spot astatine least.

Whether this assertive leaning on War of the Rohirrim‘s transportation to the Jackson films volition play retired arsenic powerfully successful the last movie arsenic it does present remains to beryllium seen, but arsenic our archetypal look astatine Warner Bros.’ plans to punctual america that it has the ocular keys to a still-legendary depiction of Tolkein’s works, it’s a amusive reminder of what to expect.

Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which besides stars Luke Pasqualino arsenic Hèra’s would beryllium suitor and the film’s antagonist, Wulf, arsenic good arsenic the concisely heard Miranda Otto reprising her relation arsenic Éowyn successful the film’s framing device, hits theaters December 13, 2024.

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