The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be a refreshing addition to the franchise, come what may, but there is a little-understood reason why it was the perfect choice for Warner Bros. The War of the Rohirrim movie will tackle the fighting between the people of Rohan – the Rohirrim – and their neighbors, the Dunlendings. It will be The Lord of the Rings’ first anime movie, directed by Kenji Kamiyama. It could be argued that anime is wasted on this movie, with Middle-earth’s most fantastical species absent from the story.

Anime is the perfect format to explore Dwarves, Elves, and Wizards, just some of the high fantasy races that J.R.R. Tolkien pioneered in his 1954 masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. That is because anime doesn’t have to rely on expensive visual or practical effects. At least the 2024 War of the Rohirrim movie trailer confirms that fun fantasy creatures like Mûmakil and nameless things (or Watchers in the Water, perhaps) will get their moment in the movie. But the story’s Rohan focus carries a timeless, universal relevance.

The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim Celebrates Rohan

War Of The Rohirrim Is Set In Third Age Rohan

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be set in the year 2758 of the Third Age in Rohan, if Tolkien’s lore is maintained in the context of the movie. That is 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movies. Including Miranda Otto’s voiceover as Éowyn, the movie’s setting and timing will be familiar enough to add new relevance to the former Lord of the Rings movies. At the same time, the setting and timing will be different enough to avoid contradicting or spoiling the magic created by former movies.

The War of the Rohirrim will feature the voice talent of Gaia Wise as Héra.

This blank-slate movie will tackle one of Middle-earth’s most glorious colonies and some of its most ancient people. The Rohirrim of Rohan, also known as Rohan’s Horse-lords, were Gondor’s allies of old, positioning them as more-than-suitable heroes for a LotR movie. Éowyn was one of the best characters of The Lord of the Rings movies and book. Meanwhile, her uncle, Théoden, was one of the best book characters, although the movies sold him short. The War of the Rohirrim can give credit where it is due and celebrate the history of two of LotR’s most important characters.

Rohan Is The Story Of Humanity In The Lord Of The Rings

Rohan Is The Perfect Choice Of Focus For Warner Bros

Éowyn and Théoden’s brilliance aside, the real reason that picking Rohan as a focal point for the new Lord of the Rings movie is a great idea is Rohan’s unique meaning and symbolism. Out of all the characters and civilizations in The Lord of the Rings, Rohan symbolized humanity the most. Aragorn and Boromir may have represented the race of Men in the Fellowship, but Gondor and its heroes had Elvish influence, and even more so the Dúnedain. The Rohirrim were inspired by Anglo-Saxons – Tolkien taught this subject at Oxford. These Eorlingas told the story of early English people.

From the noble Edain to the celebrated Northmen, the Rohirrim descended through a line of natives who stuck at Middle-earth even while their Edain relatives were off populating Númenor and befriending Elves. Tolkien clearly felt a strong affinity for the Anglo-Saxons, absorbing and teaching their culture and poetry. Much of the Rohirric language and history was inspired by them in The Lord of the Rings. Éowyn and Théoden were so compelling because they were flawed, just like the human race they represented, and it is likely that they were very close to Tolkien’s heart.

The War Of The Rohirrim Breaks New Ground With Its Human Villain

The Next Lord Of The Rings Movie Will Explore Human Faults

Adapting “The House of Eorl,” which features no significant Elves or Dwarves, the upcoming War of the Rohirrim movie will break a 23-year Lord of the Rings villain trend to posit a human as its antagonist. Men were varied in Tolkien’s world, but this will be the first time one is the main antagonist in televised LotR. Lord of the Rings and the Warner Bros. movies were always primarily concerned with a tenacious supernatural threat, passed down from Morgoth to Sauron to the One Ring. These antagonistic forces provided a cautionary tale about the dangers of pursuing life everlasting.

…audiences won’t be able to escape the accountability of these human villains, giving the movie hard-hitting parable potential.

Sauron and Saruman should operate in the background of The War of the Rohirrim, as implied by the book and the trailer’s Orc-related ending. But the movie’s main villains will be Dunlending Men Freca and Wulf. This movie gets right to the heart of what makes Rohan special and unique and, therefore, what makes humans human. It will be the first human-centric Middle-earth adaptation, tackling what makes them fail or succeed. Denied retreat into fantasy to a certain extent, modern audiences won’t be able to escape the accountability of these human villains, giving the movie hard-hitting parable potential.

Intriguingly, Tolkien provided a lot of validity for the Dunlendings’ cause. What’s more, the Rohirrim King Helm Hammerhand was no angel. The War of the Rohirrim could bring a bold new level of moral nuance to Middle-earth, as befits Rohan’s human symbolism. Honoring Tolkien’s Anglo-Saxon avatars in the movie will allow Tolkien’s celebration of English history, language, and culture to shine. With human villains as well, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is uniquely positioned to explore the tragic but inspiring interrogation of the human condition that was deeply embedded into Tolkien’s legendarium.