Not too long ago, Games Workshop announced a new edition of Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game — their licensed tabletop miniature wargame that’s based on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies.
Slipped into that annnouncement was a one-sentence tease that, as part of the update, GW would also release a series of figures based on the forthcoming anime feature the Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. (Sneaky!)
Now they’ve revealed the first of these: foot and mounted versions of Wulf, the Rohirrim lordling who seizes Meduseld (and the throne) from Helm Hammerhand.
Wulf mounted figure for the Middle-earth Battle Strategy Game.
GW Lead Design Manager told TheOnering.net that they “worked with Warner Bros. and the creative team behind the movie — including the absolutely wonderful Arty Papageorgiou and Philippa Boyens — to make sure our miniatures reflected the visuals of the film whilst sitting well alongside our existing range.”
Although I don’t play the game myself, I found the card that outlines Wulf’s special rule quite interesting.
To me, that first sentence suggests that GW will subsequently release figures for “the heirs and leaders of Rohan”. At a guess, I extrapolate that mean it’s reasonable to expect additional figures (in no particular order) for: Helm Hammerhand, Háma, Héra, Haleth, and Fréaláf Hildeson. Leaders could also include the mysterious Olwyn who features as a supporter or advisor to Héra in some of the scenes in the recently released Japanese trailer.
UPDATE
TORn Staffer Ostadan wrote to me to suggest that the new edition will very probably be rolled out with a new ‘Starter’ set (like the Battle for Osgiliath set of a few years ago). He said that “most of the game’s fans seem to think that this new starter will be between Rohan and Dunlending factions. This is not a certainty, but does seem likely.”
I certainly agree this makes a lot of sense. It would mean additional fiugures such as Freca (Helm’s father), the General Taarg, and the bald fellow whose name escapes me right now. Probably a mish-mash of Wulf’s folk, Dunlendings and Haradrim/Corsair (I’ve now seen the offical coloring book calling them Southrons) mercenaries. And perhaps a Mûmakil.
Wulf on foot. Courtesy: Games Workshop.Mounted Wulf. Courtesy: Games Workshop.
Plus even more War of the Rohirrim tie-in merch from Harper Collins
That’s not all!
In case you missed it, Harper Collins is also releasing three tie-in books that are now available for pre-order on both the HC site, and on Amazomg. (NB: at the time of writing, Amazon seems to have Falconer’s Art book on sale.)
The Art of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim By Daniel Falconer. 256pp. Releases February 25, 2025
A comprehensive, large-format hardcover offering unparalleled insight into the making of The War of the Rohirrim, and the complete creative journey from concept to finished film told by the artists and filmmakers themselves. Cover art not yet available.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Visual Companion By Chris Smith. 96pp. Releases November 5, 2024.
Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg—a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.
With a cast of exciting and original characters, and a mix of locations both familiar and new, this dramatic new standalone story weaves another thread in the grand tapestry of Middle-earth. Lavishly illustrated with breathtaking art and imagery, The War of the Rohirrim: Official Visual Companion is the ultimate introduction to every character, creature and location you will encounter in this epic adventure from the official Lord of the Rings saga.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Official Coloring Book By Warner Bros. 80pp. Releases November 5, 2024.
Experience the valiant spirit of Rohan’s warriors defending their homeland against the forces of darkness as you color these breathtaking scenes featuring all the characters, creatures, and landscapes from the new Lord of the Rings movie. Return to Middle-earth and begin a brand-new coloring adventure, from the splendor of the Golden Hall atop Edoras, to the breathtaking landscapes of Rohan, and ancient fortress of the Hornburg.
As well as dramatic scenes from this exciting new installment in the Lord of the Rings movie saga, you can color all of its heroes and villains, including Rohan’s legendary king, Helm Hammerhand, his intrepid daughter, Héra, and her brothers Haleth and Háma, Lord Freca and his son, Wulf, the warlike Southrons and iconic creatures such as the monstrous mûmakil and the savage snow-troll.
Now that the trailer for The War Of The Rohirrim is out, and a wider audience has been able to see footage, the thoughts of some of us return to Stephen Gallagher’s score. And Galllagher has, in fact, been very busy while we’ve all been staring at animation and musing aobut character designs. TORn Discord moderator Lasswen is here with the low-down.
The Sounds Of The Rohirrim: Gallagher Concludes Scoring; Big Tip on End-song Vocalist?
by TORn Discord moderator Lasswen
Trailer 1 began with Howard Shore’s iconic theme for Rohan, but then merged into what seemed to be somewhat generic trailer music.
While it was quite awesome and not out of place, it seems we are yet to hear any new music for Rohan. In June, Staffer Demosthenes published this report on the scoring to that point in time.
Let’s take a look at what has been happening since.
Again, Instagram is our friend. We are very much appreciative of Gallagher and others who have posted about their work so we can follow the journey.
In the later part of June, Gallagher travelled to England. While there was no mention of recording sessions, he did state that there was more music to score and record. At the end of July there was another update: he was nearing the finishing line of the score.
August saw a lot more activity, starting with the final round of recording in New Zealand, with Stroma Ensemble.
That included at least harp (with a small and orchestra-sized harp) and the return of Tudor Consort for additional choral recording. The inclusion of a small harp has me curious about the potential for maybe an accompanied vocal song, or a poignant scene with a singular instrument for a different sort of emotional effect than a large orchestra.
The final run of recording saw Mark Willsher (music producer and mixer, pin3hot) joining remotely from England, but then the recording sessions swapped to London and it was Gallagher that was joining remotely from New Zealand.
The three days of London recording included brass, taiko, timpani, and more crumhorns and shawms. It’s interesting that the shawms worked from the trumpet score, and transposed on sight for this final session, perhaps indicating it was a late decision to try a different sound than originally conceptualised, or to add shawms on top of the trumpets.
Something that does not seem to have occurred (as yet) that was alluded to back in mid-June was more recording in/from Mexico, presumably for more hardanger fiddle from Karen Bentley Pollick.
Yet, that’s not quite the end of it!
In recent days I spotted a mysterious credit on IMDb for “London Voices … choir theme song”. So, if there’s a theme song who could be a soloist to sing on that theme song? It seems we may actually have an answer for that! Staffer Kellie from Happy Hobbitwas the first to make the connection: the theme song for War Of The Rohirrim may be sung by Paris Paloma, after the singer shared the trailer.
Paloma’s songs often convey powerful messages on women’s issues, and with Héra as its protagonist, she seems like a good fit for a War Of The Rohirrim theme song. For now, this is unconfirmed and speculation.
However, one notes that WOTR writer Arty Papageorgiou has been following Paloma for a few months now. Additionally, the singer seems to already have a fondness for anime with a scene from Howl’s Moving Castle providing some inspiration for another song, as well including an iconic John Howe Gandalf imagine in an picture dump at the start of the month.
Now that we have reached this point, just what do we know about the score for War Of The Rohirrim?
Orchestra instrumentation includes typical woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion
Some unusual medieval instruments such as crumhorns and shawms are also present
There will be a choral section (editor’s note: chorals seemed prevalent in the trailer, but maybe that’s just me)
The iconic sound of Rohan from the Jackson films returns with the hardanger fiddle
Japanese taiko drums and Tibetan singing bowls are being used
There may or may not be Éowyn playing cowbell (at least that’s what I keep saying about Gallagher’s Weta epic mini being in most of his Insta pics hehe)
It appears there will be a theme song, possibly sung by Paris Paloma
Gallagher posted on August 28 that scoring had wrapped, so now we await hearing the results of all the talented musicians in bringing this new imagining of the sounds of Rohan to life.
About the author: Lasswen is a former primary and classroom music teacher, who played bass clarinet in high school and community concert bands. As well as being a long-time player of Lord Of The Rings Online, Lasswen makes use of the game’s music system to arrange and perform music in virtual Middle-earth.
Warner Bros. Animation is already rolling out short ads on Tik Tok and Twitter in support of the Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The first US domestic trailer debuted less than two days ago, closely followed by a trailer specifically for Japan featuring a dub cast of Japanese seiyuu (do watch the Japan trailer it has extra stuff!).
Check out this Tik Tok short below.
The ads all lead to a newly launched single-page minisite for The War of the Rohirrim — https://www.lotrthewaroftherohirrim.com/ which currently features the US trailer, and a synopsis with the current English-language voice cast.
Trailer 1 for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is here! It looks … well, it looks pretty fine I think. If you haven’t seen it yourself, check out our trailer post here!
I’ve been chatting with Staffer Kelvarhin about it the last little while, and here are some of our thoughts. This is not a frame-by-frame breakdown, just some talking points that interested us.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Interesting callbacks to the original LOTR films, shown at the start of the video. The white horse of Hera and Hera’s entrance into Meduseld, harking back to Gandalf on Shadowfax and Aragorn’s entrance to the hall at Helm’s Deep. Couldn’t make out if Hera says the name of her horse, maybe something we’ll see/hear in other trailers maybe? Are they setting up this horse as a possible forefather of Shadowfax, an early Mearas?
Staffer Demosthenes
Addressing the second thing first: it could be that Hera’s horse is one of the Mearas. I hadn’t considered that. Note, she does state later “I am the fastest rider” and that could well explain why. At the time of the War of the Ring, no other horse possessed Shadowfax’s speed or endurance.
Did you like the callback intro? It’s a very unusual way to open, but then this is an unusual project too.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Not really, I thought it was a weird way to promote a new film. Why waste screen time on a previous film that’s set hundreds of years after the new one?
Staffer Demosthenes
It’s an easy hook and that scene of Otto on Mt Sunday looking out over the valley is iconic Rohan – especially coupled with Shore’s leitmotif. Only the Pelennor charge beats it, I think, but the Pelennor charge is not a good link: we need a link to place, not to action. That being said, Helm and friends later seem to echo the Pelennor charge in a desperate defence outside Edoras’ walls. But I think we all know that charge will end in failure.
Staffer Kelvarhin
They’re really playing into Peter Jackson’s involvement with this film, reflecting on past glories, for both Producer and Middle-earth/Rohirrim.
Staffer Demosthenes
I don’t love this. I mean, I know what they’re doing from a marketing perspective: they have all of 10 secs or so to hook casuals, and a big neon PETER JACKSON is very likely the most-effective hook. However, Kenji Kamiyama is a storied director of anime in his own right; I don’t love that WB feels he needs to be propped up. That being said, if the decision was put on me I’d probably (grumpily) do the same out of commercial practicality. Philippa Boyens also probably deserves more recognition for carrying the project.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Yeah, I’m not a great fan of it either. This is supposed to be a stand-alone film, maybe let it stand on its own merits. I thought it was strange emphasising Peter Jackson over Kenji Kamiyama. It just felt like they’re trying to appeal to the LOTR film fans, which is why I mentioned “past glories”.
Staffer Demosthenes
At the same time, they’re echoing visuals and Otto is even reprising Eowyn. That all feels fine and logical and justified. I guess we both just think the recent elevation of Jackson in the pecking order is a bit … cold-blooded?
Staffer Kelvarhin
Yep.
I’m not really very knowledgeable about anime, so I don’t know if this is normal for that form of animation, but I’m really having a problem with the way the animals move, it just looks unusual to me, not quite natural. So, saying, when standing still the horses look pretty good.
Staffer Demosthenes
Animating horses is super-hard. Kamiyama and producer Joseph Chou have both talked about this and the amount of effort they’ve had to put into it. I thought it looked okay – I liked the charge from behind with the hooves throwing up clods of dirt. To me it compares well vs Attack on Titan S2.
AOT “cheats” and cuts the challenging lower half of the horse a fair bit. It will be interesting to see how much WOTR emulates this trick. I can’t think of other recent examples of horses in anime off the top of my head.
But maybe it’s not so good and I’m going crazy?
Staffer Kelvarhin
No, it just stood out for me as I’m not used to anime. My son loves anime and he thinks they look fine.
Staffer Demosthenes
It does have to appeal to people not used to anime, though. I think the greater than normal detail in the character designs is part of this effort. Much anime, especially TV anime, stylises character faces substantially (in part to reduce the volume of work). The colour palette is not too vivid, too. And the action and sound design is pretty realistic and grounded. That killer punch from Helm is heavy but, not you know, over the top? In fact all the human on human fights appeared realistic to me.
Staffer Kelvarhin
The inside of Meduseld looks pretty bloody good, the details are spot on. Love the fretwork details on the window when Hera is telling Wulf she doesn’t want to marry her. One little criticism though, women in those times, both real and fictional, did not get a say in who they would marry. It was decided by their fathers, especially in Royal families, where marriage alliances were very much the norm. She might not have wanted to marry the man chosen for her, but she wouldn’t have spoken out against it, she’d have abided by her father’s will, as that’s how she would’ve been raised. This scene came across as a bit too modern as to how she would have reacted. She might have railed to her maids, but not in public, and definitely not to her intended suitor.
Staffer Demosthenes
Did you notice that the portrayal here is that Wulf and Hera are childhood friends? It’s especially obvious with that pair of fight scenes. First they are sparring as youths, then (obviously years later) at Helm’s Deep they’re playing for keeps.
I initially wondered (because a lot of this is out of sequence) if Wulf approached Hera privately first. But now I see that can’t be the case given the dialogue. It looks like they have a chat while everyone else is filing outside for the fateful fist fight.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Yeah, I did. Bit of an intriguing dynamic.
Staffer Demosthenes
I think a lot will anchor on that dynamic. I did like the voices of Gaia Wise (Hera) and Luke Pasqualino (Wulf). Emotion, but not over the top. I feel like I need to hear more of Brian Cox (Helm) to judge him right now.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Visually it’s quite stunning, a lovely renditioning of the Middle-earth we’ve always known in the LOTR films.
Staffer Demosthenes
Did you notice the contrast of scenes that are green/sunny and those that are obviously deep within winter? That really stood out to me.
I also had some concerns about background blending after WB released their fourth still: it showed Hera riding through forest and the background seemed a bit “real”, as it were. But in motion it looks fine.
What stood out for you?
Staffer Kelvarhin
I was more taken by the scenery, especially the shot where she’s on her horse and there’s a plain and mountains behind her. I found it stunning, it would make a wonderful poster.
Staffer Demosthenes
There are some easter eggs.
Staffer Kelvarhin
A nod back to the LOTR films, with Helm saying, “You know nothing of war”. It’s almost identical to what Eomer says to Eowyn at the Dimholt. Hera’s response is almost the same as Arwen’s to Aragorn when she takes Frodo to Rivendell. These things probably won’t be noticed by casual fans/viewers, but for long time LOTR/Tolkien fans, who are notorious for picking up on these things, they’ll be pointing/yelling at the screen over these lol.
Staffer Demosthenes
Haha I missed that! I don’t watch the PJ films very much, tbh. If it was a book quote I probably would have picked it right away. Some nerdy book things I wonder: will they call it Helm’s Deep, or its original name, Suthburg? Will Freca and his folk have their own burg, or will they inhabit Isengard for narrative convenience?
Actually, it looks as though they are opting for Hornburg. Fair, i guess.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Is the head-dress/tiara Hera’s wearing the same as the one Eowyn wore?
Staffer Demosthenes
This one? From the TT EE (I think) funeral scene?
It looks different to me. I think they carry the same sword, though Greendragon disagrees with me and says it’s Thoeden’s .. Herugrim? We’ll see who’s right!
Speaking of headwear, did you notice that the band/crown that Helm wears is later being worn by Wulf as he and Hera fight. That scene is definitely at Helm’s Deep. Wulf might not actually take it from Helm, I think. I think it’ll just be part of the spoils from capturing Edoras.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Oh, I missed Wulf’s headgear! I think another rematch is coming up lol.
Staffer Demosthenes
I think Helm will still freeze to death outside the Hornburg. We get hints of that in the desperation of some of the later winter scenes I think.
Staffer Kelvarhin
I’m a bit confused about the rings bit at the end, none of the Rohirrim were ever given a ring of power, so why bring them into this? It’s a little bit distracting.
Staffer Demosthenes
It feels provocative. Certainly the Rohirrim have no involvement with, nor knowledge of, the rings of power. However, I can offer a possibility.
We know there is a character called Lord Frygt (voiced by Alex Jordan) in the film but we know nothing of his role. Scandinavian friends tell me that Frygt is a Danish word that means “fear”.
Now, we know that Wulf makes a terrible decision or bargain at some point that changes everything. In an interview with me (that now feels almost an age ago), Philippa said: “And there’s a moment in the film, which is incredibly gut-wrenching and powerful where Wulf commits himself to a course of action he cannot turn away from. And once he does that, the story darkens.”
I think it may be that this Lord Frygt is some servant of Sauron seeking rings for him. Some quick fact-checking reveals that The White Council became aware Sauron was seeking The One in TA2939, long after the events of the Helm-Wulf war, but when did Sauron *begin* searching? I can’t find a precise date and I think that’s an exploitable loophole.
What sort of servant? Well, a Nazgul wouldn’t ask questions like “what would Mordor want with rings?” But Sauron has many servants, some of them men. Wulf wants Rohan, and revenge. For that he needs an army. What if Wulf and this servant were to conveniently meet and strike a Faustian bargain. The price of the assistance that Wulf gains for his bid for the throne is … rings? (I had originally thought that the whole Wulf-hires-mercenaries-thing was completely independent of Mordor, but now I’m reconsidering: it may be more an arm’s length affair.)
Mordor (often via the Wiki) moved against the Free Peoples in this sort of fashion quite a lot during the later parts of the Third Age. If that’s the logic, then I can see it working.
But maybe I’m crazy. 😊
Staffer Kelvarhin
Interesting use of the original soundtrack at the start of the trailer, I think it’s what affected my appreciation of the original music that followed.
As, while the soundtrack is reminiscent of the LOTR soundtrack, with the choral arrangements, it didn’t feel quite as awe inspiring/gut-wrenching as the original. Admittedly it is a little hard to give a definitive opinion based on a 2-minute trailer, so I’ll reserve judgement for now. I did like what I heard and would like to hear more, but I wasn’t blown away.
Staffer Demosthenes
I noticed some Taiko-like drum sounds. I did like the vocal choir stuff. But maybe because it reminds me just a little of Kenji Kawai’s opening theme for Ghost in the Shell (the animated movie, not Kamiyama’s later TV series).
There was a lot of choir in that two minutes. I wonder if that’s going to be a trend for the entire film.
Did you like what you saw? Did it intrigue you, and would you go see this film?
Staffer Kelvarhin
I was intrigued by what I saw, it could be interesting to see how the story, as they’ve set it up, pans out. Not sure if I would pay to see it at the cinema or just wait for it to be streamed though. If my kids want to go and see it, I’ll probably take them. How about you? What was your overall impression of the trailer? Will you go and see it?
Staffer Demosthenes
I’ve been wanting to see finished animation for The War of the Rohirrim for yonks. Descriptions out of Annecy and SDCC, while cool in themselves, aren’t especially useful for forming a personal judgement. Stills will only get you so far. You need to see it moving.
Now, with a teaser in hand that combines action and dialogue and sound, it’s the moment of truth. (well, the first of them.)
As someone who does watch a fair bit of anime, it was reassuring: although I wish it was a little more fluid in character animation, it’s still very solid. The character designs look good (quite detailed, too, and that increases the level of work for staff) and move well. The horses feel like almost like a triumph – I loved the clods of earth the charge we saw was throwing up; very dynamic — given the difficulty of that task. And the backgrounds don’t jar by looking too real/photorealistic.
Fights feel realistic and don’t indulge in over the top physics — something that is fine for, say, Demon Slayer, but would be I think would run counter to the general tone of Middle-earth. It fits the world that it’s meant to be portraying.
This is crucial: It sounds and looks and feels like Middle-earth.
If there’s one thing I’m not sure about, it’s the Watcher-like creature. I don’t love monsters for the sake of them and it’s a long way from Moria to Rohan. Perhaps there’s a good contextual explanation, though.
I’ve always really liked the Helm story – it might be my favourite one out of the appendices. I can see the bones of that story here: the marriage proposal, the fight, and the consequences that follow for Rohan and its various people.
The trailer teases later events and the Hornburg climax without revealing it fully. If you don’t already know the Helm story, or what happens to Helm and his family, this trailer is a bit of a mystery actually!
Today in Annecy attending press were treated to glimpses of the upcoming film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. TORn didn’t have anyone present there, but the good folks at Warner Bros. were kind enough to share with us some of the first movie images being revealed; and we had a chance to sit down again, before Annecy, with producer Philippa Boyens, to chat some more about this hotly anticipated movie – and other returns to Middle-earth, coming in the future.
Feast your eyes on the images! And enjoy the conversation between Boyens and staffer greendragon.
GD: Hi Philippa, thanks for taking this time – and it’s very, very exciting to see some images. We all just can’t wait to see it and are excited for what’s going to be revealed at Annecy – and these three images that we have to look at. So, I have a million questions but can we plunge straight into the images?
PB: Absolutely.
HÉRA voiced by GAIA WISE in New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Animation’s epic anime adventure “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
GD: Great. I’m looking at the first one that was sent to me, which presumably is Hera, our heroine. And the first thing I have to ask you – and I don’t know if you’re going to be able to answer this question: is that Herugrim that we see in her hand there? Is that the 500-year-old heirloom of Rohan that ends up with Theoden?
PB: Well, given some of the concept artists that were involved in this film, I would say that’s probably a pretty good guess. You know the attention to detail that those guys go into. So people like Daniel Falconer and, of course, John Howe, Alan Lee, you know. And then the brilliant Japanese concept artists, not just animators but concept artists as well, have worked on this. We’ve just been spoiled, honestly, absolutely spoiled.
GD: I can well imagine! Talk to me a little bit about this character Hera, because I’ve been fascinated by some of the things I’ve read that you’ve said in other interviews, about her being inspired somewhat by the Lady of the Mercians, Aethelflaed. And your talk of that reminded me also of Matilda, the daughter of Henry I, who was known as Lady of the English. So we’ve got these early medieval women who did not end up ruling, but who kept the country together in these powerful, strong ways. And clearly in this image, Hera is being very fierce. It looks like her sword is touching someone’s shoulder that we’re just seeing in the edge of the picture. Tell me a little bit about this strong female character that I’m very excited to see.
PB: Yes, she is a strong female character; but what I really love about her, she’s a very real female character – which I think is a strength of what Professor Tolkien did with the Rohirrim, and we’ve drawn on that. Eowyn was drawn so beautifully. I mean, you know, of course, with Galadriel and Arwen, you’re dealing with immortals, you’re dealing with the quality of, I was going to say the fae, but I won’t say that, but that otherworldly quality that is inherent in the elves. With Eowyn, I always felt that she was drawn in a very real way. And so we’ve kind of tried to continue in that tradition.
She’s not named in the books and we do point that out – I won’t tell you how! – but I do think it’s interesting that often women remain unnamed. There’s an unnamed daughter in Beowulf, for example. That was immediately intriguing; but what i do say is i don’t feel in any way that Professor Tolkien was slighting that character in not naming her. I think he hadn’t gotten around to telling that part of the story; and i do believe that if he had told that part of the story, given that he was a Mercian of sorts himself, how could he not perhaps have drawn on alfred the great’s daughter? And so she felt authentic. Although, having said that, I know he also said that the Rohirrim were not pure Anglo-Saxon derivatives, you know, there’s a lot of other facets to them – including his own imagination that he drew upon.
But I’m so glad you mentioned Matilda, because I think in the same vein, you’re absolutely right, that somehow they had the facility to hold their people together without necessarily having the title of ruler. They were leaders because they showed leadership and courage when it was needed. It’s resilience, you know, often time and time again, they show something special and save their people. , I think that that was one of the things that drew us to her.
And we wanted to make sure that she was as authentically human as she could be. So she’s not without doubts. She’s not without fears. She is constrained by the strictures of the society in which she’s been brought up. She’s beloved by her father – we know that from the very beginning of the storytelling. This is what we’ve come up with, you know; because we have known brothers. We have Haleth and Hama. And we can imagine who they are. And so when it came to Hera, we thought it would be interesting that just as Théoden had that relationship with Éowyn, that kind of the interesting thing following that thread through with Helm. First he loses Haleth, he loses Hama, he loses all his sons.
And although Hera is, you know, growing up – we killed off the mother, by the way, because she’s not named either. So we imagined her growing up, raised by a warrior king, alongside two brothers who, you know, there would be a genuinely tomboyishness to her nature, that she was allowed to have a bit of a free reign when she was younger. But when it comes down to it, especially now that she’s getting older, she comes face to face with the fact that, you know what, there are strictures in this society and there are roles for women in this society that her father still expects her to fulfill.
So, sure, he let her have a bit of a free reign and she was a bit of a wild child growing up,but never once did Helm think she would do anything other than that. and fulfill her duties and so it’s really interesting that that is part of his journey of his character to sort of suddenly discover that his daughter is stronger than he knew, which is really interesting. I love the relationship between those two characters that we’ve managed to find in there.
(L-r) HÉRA Voiced by GAIA WISE, HELM HAMMERHAND voiced by BRIAN COX, HALETH Voiced by BENJAMIN WAINWRIGHT and HAMA voiced by YAZDAN QAFOURI in New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Animation’s epic anime adventure “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
GD: And great actors voicing those two characters. [Brian Cox and Gaia Wise]
PB: Oh, my God, wonderful. Honestly, I don’t think anyone else genuinely could have played Hera, but Gaia Wise, she was perfect. She has all of the elements that you want. She’s got so much life in her, and she has that tomboyishness to her, but she also has a kind of, she’s full of curiosity. She’s very intelligent. She’s got a great sense of humor, and so she’s quick, and she’s got a ready laugh, and I can imagine a little bit of wildness about her, but she’s got a heart. You know, that was the thing that got her – she’s got a huge heart.
She fell off her bike. (I hope she doesn’t mind me telling you this!) She got, because she was biking to the ADR session to do some recording, and she actually came off. She got knocked off her bike. She had a big graze on her leg, and I was appalled. I was like, oh, my God, we’ve got to do something. It was absolutely determined to just keep going because I think she was focused. Of course. She was in the zone. She felt, no, look, it’s going to be fine. I’m not, you know, nothing’s broken. And she just got straight into it, and I was just looking at her thinking. Oh my God, you are Hera. The warrior.
GD: I’m looking at the third image we saw, of Wulf outside. He certainly looks like a Dunlending, with the dark hair. I’m looking at that sort of darkness. And you were just saying before about how the Rohirrim are people, they are humans and they have a reality to them and a human quality that, of course, we don’t get in the immortals, the Maiar, the Elves. This is a tale of men.
WULF voiced by LUKE PASQUALINO New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Animation’s epic anime adventure “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
PB: What’s fascinating is the choices that Wulf makes. There is a moment, I think, where he could have, you know, conquering Edoras, if he’d settled down and become a good and wise ruling king, none of this history would have been spoken of. You know, it would have been a challenge by one lord to a lord whose time had potentially passed.
And, given the culture, (which, again, we set up very early on), this is a people who, although he is a king, they are subservient to Gondor, that in itself creates certain levels of tensions; and that although he is a king, he rules by consent, not by right. And so Wulf, if he’d made the right choices, it would have been a different story.
He doesn’t. He makes other choices, and they’re very interesting choices – and where those choices come from is really fascinating. He’s one of my favourite characters ever that we’ve ever created. He and Hera are so strong. They’re wonderful.
And, of course, Brian Cox is just brilliant as Helm. I have to say, no surprise! Unsurprisingly brilliant, which is fantastic for us and for the fans. I think they’re just going to love him.
GD: So with Annecy coming up – which is very exciting… Of course, we’re all reeling with excitement of the news of the ‘Hunt for Gollum’ movie. And I see that Andy Serkis is going to be there to host a panel with you, at Annecy. I noticed looking back on last year’s Annecy that in an interview there, you said that this movie and this story, this animated film, would be ‘a good way back into’ the world of Middle-earth. Did you have an inkling then that this (The War of the Rohirrim) was, to quote Gandalf, the falling of small stones that would start an avalanche? Did you think there was going to be more coming?
PB: Yes, I did. I did. I myself personally felt up for it. It was one of those things where you go back to something that, I mean, you know, you can lose yourself sometimes in making a film. And you kind of lose, you know, I’ve always found that the books were my comfort read. They were the thing that I always had that I could fall into. And in a way, doing the films destroyed that to a certain level.
What was interesting is going back into this and going back into a part of the story that was so fresh to me. And I think it’s going to be fresh to the audience and yet familiar, which is also brilliant. It re-energized me. I don’t know what it was, but it made me think, you know what – I do love telling stories within this world. It feels like a natural fit.
And I love the passion of the fans. I genuinely mean that, absolutely. You can tell all the members of the Torn community of TheOneRing that they’re always sitting on my shoulder.
GD: But in a good way!
PB: In the best possible way. Because, you know, you’ve got to have such respect for the passion that’s involved there. And I think it’s entirely appropriate and we should be held to a really high standard. And I think Kenji Kamiyama has not only met that standard, he’s smashed it. He had the bar and then he smashed his way through it and set it somewhere even higher. So it’s fantastic. Can’t wait for you guys to see it.
GD: We can’t wait to see it. It’s so exciting. You know, this year, TheOneRing.net is 25 years old. It’s our silver anniversary! Who would have thought we would be not only still going, but here having the chance to talk to you about new projects. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! Our staffer Demosthenes [who chatted with PB before] asked me to just casually ask you, are we going to see Saruman?
PB: [laughs] I can neither confirm nor deny that! I really can’t. I think he’s, I have to tell you, he’s very acute and perceptive – and some of the things that he was supposing were very much on the money in terms of when he saw the mumaks and things like that. And I thought that was really interesting. But that one I’m not giving him. Tell him I’m sorry!
GD: I’ll tell him! Well, it’s so great to talk, Philippa. Have a great time in Annecy, and I hope we can connect again; and we just can’t wait for everything that’s coming up. Thank you so much.
PB: I’m always happy to talk to you guys, absolutely.
Huge thanks to Philippa Boyens, and to Warner Bros. for affording us this exclusive interview. A closer look at these first images is coming soon!
Executive Producer Philippa Boyens is pretty pleased with the casting for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
“It’s exciting — we’ve been sitting on it for a little bit,” she says. “[But] it all seemed to come together in an organic way, which is what you want, I think. Suddenly, the right people come to the role.”
Boyens says that bringing in Otto as narrator was not an immediate decision. Rather it was one that gradually emerged.
She explains that Éowyn eventually felt like the natural way into the bloody and grim tale from Rohan’s past.
“Her voice was familiar,” she says. “And then I think it started to come easily for the writers.”
She hopes that it will also help locate the story for film fans who are unfamiliar with deeper cuts from Middle-earth’s history.
Yet that was not the only reason — an oral tradition felt fitting.
“It’s also so fragmentary, what we are dealing with in terms of the source material. It’s little bits of references here and there … so the oral tradition felt kind of right. The oral tradition of her telling the tale, passing the tale on.”
She doesn’t divulge to whom. But one guesses it is likely her grandson, Barahir. Tolkien not only names Barahir in The Lord of the Rings (solving any potential rights-access issues that would arise with her son, Elboron), he is also an in-world scholar and the author of The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen.
Helm Hammerhand: a complex and epic role
Boyens says that both the film’s director Kenji Kamiyama, and Warner Bros SVP and producer Jason DeMarco, were well aware of Brian Cox from his recent voice role in the English dub of Blade Runner: Black Lotus.
“They’re huge fans, of course,” she says.
“Weirdly, years ago — and this is me aging myself — I tried to go and see Brian’s performance as Titus Andronicus.”
She describes how this 1987 run of the Shakespeare tragedy directed by Deborah Warner has attained a legendary status.
“It was just one of those ones which was fresh and shocking,” she says.
“And it [the Andronicus role] wasn’t a role — this is from Brian himself — that many of the other actors were interested in taking on. But he connected to it. I couldn’t get a ticket, but I had a couple of friends saw it who were just blown away. And they talked about the way in which his rage was fuelled by this grief. And the underlying horror that was in the storytelling.
“And that kind of resonated with me when we were thinking about the Helm role. Because it just — it spans a lot of different emotions.”
She says the role — and the film — is about delving into Helm’s choices.
“And the mistakes he made as well. And then his acknowledgement of those mistakes. Was there an acknowledgement of those mistakes?” she asks.
At different points she notes Helm’s hot-temperedness, and how he almost certainly under-estimated the Rohirrim lord, Wulf, who after he is outlawed leads the Dunlending invasion of Rohan.
“[Yet], I saw the tales of him slipping out [of the Hornburg] during the siege and attacking the camp for his people as literally someone trying — even with their bare hands – to protect the people as the king should,” she adds.
“So he was a true manifestation of the king-protector.”
Helm’s heirs and the overthrow of Edoras
The grim reality, though, is that Helm is unable to protect his children.
His eldest son, Haleth, is slain when Edoras is overrun and taken by Wulf’s forces while Helm is forced to take refuge in the Hornburg. We touch only briefly on Helm’s other son but I conclude that his Hama’s fate will remain the same tragedy that it is in Appendix A.
Boyens describes the first as a shocking and powerful moment. Powerful, perhaps, for readers, to finally see things they’ve long envisaged through Tolkien’s descriptions; shocking for film fans to see the unexpected — Edoras besieged and overthrown.
On the other hand, Tolkien leaves the fate of Helm’s daughter unclear. In fact, he never names her even though Freca’s bid for her hand in marriage for his son, Wulf, is a key catalyst for war. Boyens concedes that we simply do not know a lot about her.
“Where we turn to, very deliberately, is to Æthelflæd, the Lady of the Mercians. Alfred the Great’s daughter,” Boyens says, and proceeds to provide a rapid-fire education on an era of British history that I’d barely known of until now.
“She never ruled as a queen per se; she’s known as the Lady of Mercians. But she seems to step in when her people needed her.
“Æthelflæd was also really ingenious, which comes into play in the script. [It] was an idea that Kamiyama had, and they (he and the writers) played with that. I can’t tell you too much about it. But it’s about how you save your life when you have very little to work with?”
It’s a statement that seems to suggest that Helm’s daughter – who they’ve chosen to name Héra – will play some key role after the fall of Edoras to Wulf, and the death of Haleth.
“And I really don’t think that Professor Tolkien would hate this,” Boyens says. “Because I always see him as a bit of a Mercian himself being from the Midlands.”
Héra: so named as a nod to the Anglo-Saxon
Unsurprisingly, the name Héra is chosen for alliterative effect: Helm, Haleth, Hama, Héra. Yet Boyens reveals that wasn’t initially the case.
“Someone suggested another name and I went: “Nope, it’s gotta start with “H”, sorry”,” she says.
“Actually, Fran Walsh named her. I told her we were stuck. It’s actually Héra (I get a quick pronunciation lesson and discover the é functions a little like the “ai” in hair) — that’s why it has the accent. Not so much based on the Greek [goddess] Hera, but a nod to the Anglo-Saxon.
“And I like to think she wasn’t a character that [the writers] tried to create wholesale — pulling things out of thin air. Héra is very much drawing from sources that fit with the storytelling that Tolkien himself is drawing on.”
In case you’re wondering, Boyens confirms that neither Fran Walsh nor Peter Jackson have an official production role. It’s more that, since they’re long-time collaborators and have so much experience within Tolkien’s Middle-earth, they’re sometimes just a natural sounding board for ideas.
“I also want to give a shout out to Gaia Wise who voices Héra. I think you guys are going fall in love with her. She is fantastic, she’s amazing. She just had such innate sense of who the character is and how to play her. She was great.
“She had a very natural sense of fiery-ness, but without it being petulance defiance.”
Mûmakil, mercenaries and money
While we’re discussing events at Edoras, conversation inevitably veers toward the Mûmakil that were prominent in the initial concept art released in January.
“In order to understand the use of those [ideas],” Boyens says, “you need to understand the character of Wulf and the position that Wulf is in — and had found himself in. And who he would be turning to.”
At this point she pulls in another fact, mentioning the great wealth of Wulf’s father, Freca.
“His father was not an insignificant Lord of Rohan. He had indeed grown fat and prospered,” she says, referencing Helm’s comment in Appendix A about Freca’s large waistline.
Boyens doesn’t expand any further, but my own guess is that The War of the Rohirrim will establish Wulf as the organising mind behind coordinated assaults on Gondor and Rohan, using resources wealth from his father to secure the assistance of Corsairs and Haradrim.
As Appendix A states:
Four years later (2758) great troubles came to Rohan, and no help could be sent from Gondor, for three fleets of the Corsairs attacked it and there was war on all its coasts. At the same time Rohan was again invaded from the East, and the Dunlendings seeing their chance came over the Isen and down from Isengard.
It was soon known that Wulf was their leader. They were in great force, for they were joined by enemies of Gondor that landed in the mouths of Lefnui and Isen.
A human struggle that becomes increasingly claustrophobic
If this sounds like a very human — and political — struggle, Boyens concurs. I suggest the absence of elves, dwarves and hobbits makes it a very different tale to The Lord of the Rings that most know.
She indicates that this was one of the reasons for choosing Helm’s story.
“It’s not about the Ring, it’s not about the Dark Lord. All of that is very peripheral to the story.”
She says it’s also the attraction of examining honour, revenge and familial ties — on both sides.
For Helm, there’s madness born of grief from the loss of the child. With Wulf, there’s his relationship with his father, and with Héra.
“He is his father’s son, but he has a different character. So he does actually offer [to wed] her and the writers asked: ‘Why?’ What was driving him? Was it just his father demanding that he do this? Was it his ambition? What was at play there?”
Even the historical grievances of the Dunlendings — that the lords of Gondor gave what the Dunlendings felt was their land to the Rohirrim — should come through in the film.
She says that all those things are in the Helm tale.
“When I talked to Kamiyama about it, it resonated with him. So that was the genesis,” she says.
“And there’s a moment in the film, which is incredibly gut-wrenching and powerful where Wulf commits himself to a course of action he cannot turn away from. And once he does that, the story darkens.”
She says it was here that the screenwriters Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou really connected with Kamiyama.
“So, yes, it begins with these quite large-scale battles, but it actually becomes more intense and … claustrophobic,” Boyens says.
“And the nature of the film changes almost into a ghost story.
“As the siege takes hold, as the rumours of horror begin to spread. And I can give you a little tease and let you know that, although we said this isn’t about The Ring and this isn’t about the Dark Lord … there are the White Mountains and there are creatures [out there].”
Somewhat to my relief she squashes speculation that she might be referring to the Dead of Erech. Instead, she suggests that orcs inhabited the area — a historically more agreeable inclusion.
“Also, I can just add — and I thought it was, again, really interesting in the way that Kamiyama approached this — this was a long, cold winter that was hurting everyone.”
This suggests that there won’t be space to see Gondor’s own struggles. Gondor may come to the rescue in the end, but it seems the focus will be squarely on a life-and-death struggle within Rohan.
She won’t even confirm or deny the presence of Saruman the White in the film. We’ll just have to wait and see.
About the author: Staffer Demosthenes has been involved with TheOneRing.net since 2001, serving first as an Associate News Editor, then as Chief News Editor during the making of the Hobbit films. Now he focuses on features and analysis.The opinions in this article are his own and do not necessarily represent those of TheOneRing.net and other staff.
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