The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim brings back Miranda Otto, who starred in Peter Jackson's trilogy as Éowyn, and casts Succession's Brian Cox. Decades after Jackson first brought J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth to the big screen, the Lord of the Rings franchise has been undergoing a creative resurgence in recent years. Due to the sale of the franchise's television rights in 2017, Amazon has a highly-anticipated big-budget prequel series on the way in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
However, the franchise's film rights remain with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros., who produced the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies from director Peter Jackson. One project the studio has in the works is the animated movie, The War of the Rohirrim, directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus). Set 250 years before the Lord of the Rings movies, the anime tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan who constructs the mighty fortress that later becomes known as Helm's Deep.
Now, The War of the Rohirrim is beginning to reveal its voice cast. Per Deadline, Otto will reprise her role as Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, from Jackson's trilogy and will serve as the narrator of this new tale. Succession actor Brian Cox will lead the cast of the anime by providing the voice of the main protagonist, Helm Hammerhand.
Another big name to have joined the cast is Gaia Wise, daughter of Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, who will voice Helm's daughter, Hera, who comes to her father's aid and leads an army during an increasingly desperate situation. Snowpiercer's Luke Pasqualino will voice the antagonist Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking revenge for the death of his father who launches an all-out assault on Helm and his people. In addition to these names, The War of the Rohirrim announced a bulk of its voice cast which includes Bridgerton's Lorraine Ashbourne, The Witcher's Shaun Dooley, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski.
These casting announcements for The War of the Rohirrim surely provide a lot for Lord of the Rings fans to be excited about. Cox is one of the most accomplished British actors across the stage and screen and always makes his presence felt on any project no matter the size of the role. Otto's return as Éowyn should also go a long way towards infusing the animated film with that genuine Lord of the Rings feel. Unfortunately, the wait for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be long, as it won't be released theatrically until 2024.
Source: Deadline
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, the upcoming anime movie set in Middle-earth 250 years before Tolkein's trilogy, is rounding out its cast.Adam Bentz