‘Lord of the Rings’ Anime Movie in the Works From New Line, Warner Bros. Animation

[Detective Conan]

‘Lord of the Rings’ Anime Movie in the Works From New Line, Warner Animation Group

Twenty years after making its first journey into the lands created by J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line is returning to the worlds of The Lord of the Rings.

The Warner Bros. movie division, which made the Oscar-winning Rings trilogy and later adapted The Hobbit, has partnered with Warner Animation Group to produce an original anime set in Tolkien’s fantasy world, the companies announced Thursday.

Titled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the standalone feature will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama, an anime veteran who last directed Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone ComplexTV series, and produced by Joseph Chou. The two have worked on some of the biggest anime franchises over the years including Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya, Ultraman, Appleseed, on top of Ghost in the Shell.

 

[Kane52630]

I just hope they do something different with the animation and not rely on the same ol generic anime look.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Count me in!

 

[Pennywise]

‘Lord of the Rings’ Anime Movie in the Works from New Line, Warner Animation – The Hollywood Reporter

The Warner Bros. movie division, which made the Oscar-winning Rings trilogy and later adapted The Hobbit, has partnered with Warner Bros. Animation to produce an original anime set in Tolkien’s fantasy world, the companies announced Thursday.



Titled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the standalone feature will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama, an anime veteran who last directed Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series, and produced by Joseph Chou. The two have worked on some of the biggest anime franchises over the years including Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya, Ultraman, Appleseed, on top of Ghost in the Shell.

Rohirrim is being written by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, the creators behind Netflix’s Emmy-winning The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance series.

Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote Rings and Hobbit with filmmaker Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, winning an Oscar for The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, is serving as a consultant on the project.

Jackson is not involved with Rohirrim but has blessed its making, according to insiders. The project is on the fast-track with animation being done at Sola Entertaiment and voice-casting underway. The plan is to release the movie theatrically.

Rohirrim ties to the original trilogy, specifically the second installment, The Two Towers, by focusing on an untold story behind Helm’s Deep, the fortress at the center of the movie’s epic battle. The story will be set hundreds of years before that fateful war and, according to the announcement, tell of the life and bloodsoaked times of its fonder, Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan.

“All of us at New Line feel a deep affinity for the extraordinary world J.R.R. Tolkien created, so the opportunity to dive back into Middle-earth with the team at Warner Bros. Animation is a dream come true,” enthused Warner Bros. Pictures Group COO Carolyn Blackwood, and New Line president and CCO, Richard Brener, in a statement. “Fans know Helm’s Deep as the stage for one of the greatest battles ever put to film and, with many of the same creative visionaries involved and the brilliant Kenji Kamiyama at the helm, we couldn’t be more excited to deliver a fresh vision of its history that will invite global audiences to experience the rich, complex saga of Middle-earth in a thrilling new way.”

 

[Detective Conan]

Already posted: ‘Lord of the Rings’ Anime Movie in the Works From New Line, Warner Animation Group

 

[Pennywise]

Already posted: ‘Lord of the Rings’ Anime Movie in the Works From New Line, Warner Animation Group

My bad!

 

[Pennywise]

Awesome!!!

 

[DarkKnight88]

Not needed, but if it gets even a tiny feeling of the trilogy in it, then I'll be happy.

Is any of this story told by Tolkien in any of the books, or is this completely made up?

 

[henzINNIT]

Is any of this story told by Tolkien in any of the books, or is this completely made up?

Helm Hammerhand is a genuine Tolkien character. Like most of his characters, there is a lot of exposition and backstory for him, but he's not in any of the actual stories as such. There's source material, but more a description of events than a fleshed out story.

 

[Drizzle]

Well this is a pleasant surprise.

 

[THORin]

Very excited for this. It’s far enough removed from the events of LOTR proper that it can work as a stand-alone, but there’s still room for some interesting tie-ins: I’m particularly interested to see what they’ll do with Saruman, since Helm’s reign ends with the wizard taking control of Isengard after it’s vacated by the Dunlendings. They could use him as a puppet-master type character behind the scenes, especially if they’re adhering to Jackson’s canon, where Saruman can control the weather: was the Long Winter really his doing? I’m kind of geeking out over here, but there’s a lot they could do with this.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Yeah, count me in.

 

[Detective Conan]

2D, huh? Well sign me up!

 

[DarthSkywalker]

This is so weird. I mean I hope it is good obviously, but I just can't imagine how this is going to play out.

 

[Silvermoth]

I just saw the pacific rim anime and to be honest, I didn’t love it. I’m not so sure about western x eastern anime blends but we’ll see

 

[Pennywise]

 

[InCali]

I don't know much about the rights to the characters, but there was talk about the rights reverting because nothing was being put into production for a certain amount of time. Could this be related to maintaining rights?

 

[DarkKnight88]

Is this actually going to theatres or a DTV thing?

EDIT: Theatrical, wow, nice! Makes it that much more of an event.

‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ Anime Film Sets Release Date – Deadline

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Drizzle]

Am I the only one who's more hyped for this than the Amazon LOTR?

 

[DarkKnight88]

Am I the only one who's more hyped for this than the Amazon LOTR?

Nope, I feel the same.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Mandon Knight]

Nope, I feel the same.

Count me the same.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Looks magical!

 

[Gothamsknight]

Can't wait for this!