“The Lord of the Rings” returns this Christmas, in a completely different style — Japanese animation.
Arriving in theaters on Dec. 13, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” hails from executive producers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and producer Philippa Boyens, all veterans of the original “Lord of the Rings” series. They have returned for an anime based on the world, from director Kenji Kamiyama. Watch the brand-new trailer below:
The trailer is interesting because it starts off with footage from the live-action “Lord of the Rings” movies, before transitioning to the jaw-dropping animation. The story for “The War of Rohirrim” takes place 200 years before the events of the original trilogy and follows Hèra (voiced by Gaia Wise), a daughter of Helm who goes on a mission to save her kingdom. Brian Cox voices the king of Rohan and Miranda Otto returns to voice Éowyn, who she also played in the live-action Peter Jackson movies.
Warner Bros. showed off the first 20 minutes of the movie at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this year; it was fun and action-packed, with a vaguely “Brave”-ish vibe. The trailer certainly shows more of the movie, including how epic it is going to be and how it connects to the original trilogy (that ring!). It helps that Jackson, Boyens and Walsh are on board as producers, making sure that it slots nicely into the overall franchise that also includes their “Hobbit” trilogy and the upcoming Gollum movies.
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim” opens theatrically on Dec. 13.
