The saga written by JRR Tolkien has become a very lucrative film franchise (with what that implies in derivative products) under the leadership of Peter Jackson, with revenues of nearly $6B including the trilogy of Hobbit.
If Peter Jackson’s two trilogies, that of Lord of the Ringsreleased between 2001 and 2003 and that of Hobbitwhich arrived in theaters between 2012 and 2014, were an unexpected financial success, since they both earned a little less than $3G at the international box office, the world of the British writer is now a safe bet .
It is for this reason that the New Line and Warner Bros. studios. Animation have decided, in 2021, to start working on an animated film taking place in these imaginary lands. And this Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim allows studios not to lose their cinematographic rights to the works of the English author.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY WARNER BROS.
In order not to risk offending Peter Jackson fans, Philippa Boyens, co-writer of the filmmaker’s films, acted as consultant and producer of the animated feature film which takes place 183 years after the first trilogy. We follow Helm Hammerhand (voice of Brian Cox in the original version), king of Rohan, while he and his children, notably his daughter Hèra, the heroine of the story, must defend the kingdom against the Dunlendings.
“Because everyone dies! And before you complain, this is what’s in the books…and this story takes place centuries before the movies,” exclaimed Philippa Boyens while meeting American journalists at the Animated Film Festival. ‘Annecy.
The producer also wanted to emphasize that Hèra was not a warrior princess. As Tolkien did, screenwriters Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou were inspired by History and more specifically by Æthelflæd, lady of the Mercians and daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. She ruled Mercia during the time of the Viking invasions of England and played a key role in conquering territory held by the Danes.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY WARNER BROS.
For his part, director Kenji Kamiyama described Hèra as “a tomboy, a wild and vulnerable young woman, with a development that sees her growing up in times of war – because you can’t really have a story on the Earth of the Environment without war.”
And visually, artisans from WETA studios collaborated to The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrimdesigns by John Howe were used and composer Stephen Gallagher, who appears in the credits of the Hobbitcreated a soundtrack in the vein of that of Howard Shore.
“We paid great attention to details,” added Philippa Boyens, “taking inspiration from the works of Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki.”
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim arrives on cinema screens from December 13.
