Hey, guys, I know we’ve been in an avalanche of Rings of Power news lately,
but Warner Brothers just one day after the Rings of Power teaser burst
into the room like the Kool-Aid man. And now we have our first look at
two pieces of concept art from War of the Rohirrim and a release date.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we’re going to dive into this new Lord of the Rings film,
we’ll talk about the lore behind it, the events happening in Middle-earth at this time,
and the incredible ways this story could connect to the Peter Jackson films!
We now know that The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
will release April 12, 2024. And while that’s still a ways out,
keep in mind we waited for like 5 years to find out the Rings of Power title,
so the fact we have some concept art to show off feels like Christmas morning to me right now.
In the release we are told that War of the Rohirrim will take place
two centuries before the events of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings,
which is dead-on with Tolkien’s account. It will follow Helm Hammerhand, who is the King
of Rohan during this time and will follow the creation of Helm’s Deep. Now I don’t think this
means necessarily the building of the fortress which is actually known as the Hornburg, as it
predates the Rohirrim completely. The fortress is built by Gondorians in their glory days,
long before the Eotheod would be given the lands of Calenardhon, which becomes Rohan. However,
I think this will tell us how it came to be known as Helm’s Deep - named for our main character.
Now, Helm’s Deep is technically the name of the entire defensive system that is in this ravine,
so it's possible we may see some construction of the deeping wall or something like that.
Now let’s dive into these art pieces, who is involved,
and why I am SUPER pumped for the connections this film could have to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The list of who is involved should be incredibly exciting to fans of the Peter Jackson film.
Not only do they have a newcomer in the form of anime director Kenji Kamiyama, but the returning
contributors are a who’s who from Peter Jackson’s adaptation - we’ve got Alan Lee and John Howe,
we’ve got Richard Taylor and WETA, and perhaps most exciting of all, we’ve got Philipa Boyens
executive producing. Having the resident Tolkien expert from the films executive producing is
certainly welcome news. Writing the screenplay are Philippa’s daughter Phoebe Gittins and her writing
partner Arty Papageorgiou - which will be based on a script from Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews.
Now, let’s look at the images and go over the clues we have for this film.. First,
we have an image of two armies lined up prepared to do battle. In the distance we have the very
familiar and iconic Rohan city of Edoras as well as the White Mountains where we saw
the beacons in Return of the King. We’ve got an army of Rohirrim standing in defense of the city
and in the foreground we have what is no doubt an army of dunlendings - the men
who reside not far from Isengard and have a long history of strife with the Rohirrim.
What will no doubt be of major interest here is one of the mumakil in the frame - the famous war
beasts that hail from the lands of Far Harad. This really piqued my interest because they come
from lands completely separate from Dunland, and pretty far away, and there’s no mention of them
in this story in Tolkien’s writing. At first, I wondered if they were adding an alliance between
the Haradrim and the Dunlendings, but I think it could be much simpler than that. But first
let’s look at the second image.
Here, in what I’m 90% sure is a John Howe piece, we see the enemies of Rohan breaking
down the defensive barrier. It seems they have broken through the ranks of
the Rohirrim and made their way to Edoras. We see the golden hall of Meduseld upon the hill
and a couple guards standing near the hall. I love everything about this image and it just
goes to show how masterful John Howe and Alan Lee are in this world - there is a reason that they,
along with Ted Nasmith are the holy trinity of Tolkien illustrators.
We have the Mumak doing the damage breaking through the wooden barrier and what appear
to be some Haradrim archers like we saw in the films. Now, here’s what I think is happening with
the mumak being involved. I don’t think we are seeing large-scale involvement by the Haradrim.
I think there will only be one mumak in this battle. We’ve seen their incredible destructive
power and just having one attacking the horsemen could wreak havoc and turn the tide of the battle.
Naturally, the question I’ve received a lot is how a Mumak would go from down in Harad,
to invading Rohan from the North. For the likely answer, let’s look at what
else is going on in Middle-earth at this time. This conflict in Rohan
comes just before the Long Winter, as does another invasion - an invasion of three fleets from Harad
and Umbar into Southern Gondor. And while Gondor is under attack from the South,
we are told that Wulf - the leader of the Dunlendings forms an alliance with the Corsairs.
Some of the corsairs sail north, landing in the mouths of Lefnui and Isen, reinforcing Wulf’s
dunlending army. I think it likely that we are seeing one of these terrifying beasts of war,
brought by the corsairs and haradrim to aid their alliance.
With Gondor busy fighting the haradrim and corsairs in the south, Rohan is left alone
against the forces of Dunland and their southern allies. Edoras falls, and the survivors are left
to struggle against their enemies throughout the Long Winter in the Suthburg and Dunharrow.
Now if you want to dive deeper into the lore of
the main character and much of the story we are likely to see,
check out my video on Helm Hammerhand. Another thing I will add is that some have referred
to this show as the shieldmaidens of Rohan movie, and I think that is pretty misleading.
The only reference we have to shieldmaidens of Rohan taking part in war - aside from Eowyn of
course - comes in History of Middle-earth volume 8, where it alludes to the women
taking part in fighting against the invasion of the Easterlings during the reign of Eorl’s
grandson (who we later know to be named Aldor). This invasion would be about 200 years before the
events of the War of the Rohirrim and 400 years before Eowyn’s time. We certainly know that any
tradition of shieldmaidens fighting in battle was long gone by the time Eowyn’s epic tale unfolds.
Now, that’s not to say that we won’t see shieldmaidens in action - I just don’t
think they will be the primary storyline as we are told Helm Hammerhand is the main character
and his exploits are sure to be what people will be talking about.
I do, however, think the shieldmaidens will play a role - and they’ll provide a chilling connection
to a line of Eowyn’s during the trilogy. And that’s one thing I’m really looking for in this
adaptation - connective tissue to the films. First and foremost, I’m looking for an incredible story,
with great visuals, compelling characters, and heaps of Tolkien lore and love. But
the second thing is what I look for in any prequel - to enhance and not detract from
the films that were made before it, but chronologically come after.
First off, I think we will see shieldmaidens of Rohan - though not in an organized military way.
My theory is that there will be a surprise attack on Edoras and in the haste of defense, combined
with a great enemy force bolstered by a mumak, the Rohirrim will suffer defeat, and the last line
of defense for the people behind this wall, will be a large number of women, left to take up arms
for themselves and those they hold dear - and I don’t think it will go well. It will be enough for
a large number of Rohirrim to flee the city, but there will be bloodshed among the women of Rohan.
So when 200 years later, Eowyn says “the women of this country learned long ago,
those without swords can still die upon them”, we will think back on the hardy women of Rohan
serving as a last defense for their families. And you’ll futher understand that Eowyn, like
her ancestors, are willing to fight with and die for those she loves most. And there are so many
chances for moments like this to hit really well from the connective tissue between these films.
When Theoden abandons Edoras for Helm's Deep, we’ll understand that it is less defensible
because we’ve seen it sacked. When Aragorn says Helm’s Deep has saved them in the past, we’ll
know why. When Theoden’s face drops at the sight of an army of Mumakil, we’ll know he was raised
on this very story - the story of the devastation that a single mumak brought upon his ancestors.
We’ll see a king, under siege by his enemies, leave his fortress in the dead of night. After
we see that king blow his great horn, so that his enemies know he is coming to single-handedly
kill them with his bare hands - we’ll know why the Horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep
one last time.
As a HUGE Rohirrim fan, I’m beyond excited for this film - and I can’t help but think
that if this goes well, it will just be the first of other single self-contained
films we could get in Middle-earth. With this and Amazon’s show coming out, it’s certainly
an exciting time to be a Tolkien fan, and I love that every time Amazon makes a splash,
we have Warner Brothers springing into action, even though their timeline is further out.
With War of the Rohirrim coming out just two years before Fellowship’s 25th anniversary,
I can’t help but think things are lining up for some major LOTR competition between these two
companies. And with the film licensing rights up for sale right now, I can’t help but wonder - will
one of these companies snatch up those rights? Or will a third party jump in the game? I truly
think that having the film and tv rights between 2 different companies would be good for both
fans - and the products we will get. They’ll constantly know that there’s someone else out
there, working to make the best Middle-earth content in the world. Only time will tell.
For now, all I can say is… Forth Eorlingas! as always i want to say a huge thank you to
my patreon supporters who make this channel possible tom de bombadil 19 listen me the
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and debbie if you enjoyed the artwork in this video check out the artists in the description
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