Middle-earth returns to Kiwi cinemas this week, with the new Sir Peter Jackson-produced animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opening nationwide on December 12.
After the New Zealand premiere on Tuesday, the stars and creators descended on Hobbiton in Matamata where they spoke to Herald entertainment reporter Mitchell Hageman about their thoughts on the famous franchise, and what the future holds for Middle-earth’s treasure trove of untold stories.
Sir Peter Jackson and his Lord of the Rings whānau aren’t anywhere near done with J.R.R. Tolkien’s sprawling fantasy epic just yet.
“Talking about going back into Middle-earth, we thought it would be interesting to explore smaller stories to fit formats and not try to repeat ourselves with the two trilogies we’ve done,” Jackson said of the franchise’s newest entry.
The Oscar-winning creator, who produced the latest film through WingNut Films and was labelled its “Godfather,” told the Herald he was always interested in the idea of exploring untapped stories in the LOTR universe.
Co-written by Lord of the Rings writer Philippa Boyens and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, The War of the Rohirrim is set 183 years before the events of the original Jackson trilogy (2001-2003).
It follows the fabled legend of King of Rohan Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) and his family (Gaia Wise, Yazdan Qafouri and Benjamin Wainwright) as they battle the impending forces of evil.
The film takes inspiration from original LOTR production designs and lore while combining it with the unique anime art form.
Viewers are treated to an explanation of how the infamous location of Helm’s Deep (the site of an iconic battle in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) was named, as well as the ability to witness some character-building for the franchise’s existing films.
“It feels like Lord of the Rings, and it’s nice to be back in this world,” Jackson said.
Boyens said she had “fallen in love,” with the anime art form and really hoped there would be other opportunities to see it in the LOTR realm.
“[Jackson and partner Fran Walsh’s] instincts are always spot on”.
While Jackson said he was unsure of LOTR’s animated future, he hasn’t discounted a possible return to the form.
“I don’t know. This was always going to be a one-off film. If it’s successful and people like the anime, then I don’t think there’s any reason why there can’t be any more out there”.
His next project, a live-action collaboration with franchise favourite Andy Serkis, will again tap into an untold story of a notorious LOTR character.
The Hunt for Gollum will see Serkis direct and reprise his role as Gollum/Smeagol, with the plot revolving around the titular characters earlier years.
“Some pretty interesting stuff happens that we reference in passing in LOTR, but there’s a lot of more deep detail to it,” Jackson said.
The tone and pacing will be significantly different from any other films in the franchise, Jackson hinted.
“It’s like a psychological drama. There won’t be big epic battles compared to the other movies. It’ll be more inside Gollum’s head”.
Serkis told the Herald he knew he had “a job to do,” with The Hunt for Gollum, but also had some inspiring words about further development of the franchise.
“It’s extraordinary,” Serkis said of The War of the Rohirrim.
“And in such great hands by Kenji Kamiyama as well. To see what the cast has done with this film, which is bringing together two incredible fandoms, Anime and Lord of the Rings, it could not be a better match”.
He “absolutely” saw a future for LOTR in animation.
“I mean this is just the beginning. I think there are going to be some amazing potential future films”.
No stranger to New Zealand shores, Serkis said he had spent about seven of his birthdays in the country and looked forward to spending time here in the future, even giving a special shoutout to Wellington.
New to the franchise is legendary Golden Globe-winning actor Brian Cox, playing the fabled Helm Hammerhand.
Cox told the Herald he loved the experience of working with Jackson, Kamiyama and the cast on The War of the Rohirrim.
He also said he was taken aback by experiencing a moving pōwhiri that took place to welcome the cast to the Hobbiton red carpet event.
“I’m loving it. It’s a completely new experience. Having been part of [the pōwhiri] was wonderful and extraordinary,” Cox said.
Famous for his acclaimed acting in Shakespearean dramas as well as his role as ailing media titan Logan Roy in the award-winning series Succession, Cox said he drew on the Bard to help him prepare for the role of Helm.
“Helm is very Shakespearean as a character. He’s probably, in the terms of Lord of the Rings, the most Shakespearean character because it’s a couple of centuries before The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings,” he said.
“Funnily enough, my image for Helm was of King Lear before he gets dottled; King Lear as the warrior king”.
While Cox admitted he may be “franchised out,” after this film, he was “very proud” of the work done and loved working with Jackson and the production team.
He also didn’t rule out a return to voice work, professing his love for the craft and sharing a bit of his history as well.
“I’ve done a few anime [films] actually over the years. Not one as big as this, this is probably the biggest one I’ve done.
“I enjoy anything which is to do with the voice, because I think the voice is greatly underrated nowadays. I come from a very poor Scottish background, and I had to learn how to speak. It was in the 60s and if you didn’t know how to speak, you didn’t get a job, so I’m very grateful for my training in that sense.”
Viewers of the film may also hear a familiar voice, with Australian actor Miranda Otto reprising her role as Eowyn from the original trilogy as the story’s narrator.
“It was a great treat to come back. When we did the recording, we went to Park Road studios where we did all the original ADR recordings.
“It was lovely to be back and working with a lot of the same people. Just being in that room and being back in Wellington really took me back to Middle-earth and that was really, really helpful in re-finding character”.
Otto described Lord of the Rings fans as the most “amazing, loyal, beautiful people,” who would often share stories with her about how important the franchise was to them.
She said she felt inspired when the concept of an anime film was broached.
“When [Boyens] said that this was going to be a Japanese anime version of a story from the past, I thought that’s such a great idea. Like there’s such interesting links between Japanese mythology and the Lord of the Rings universe so I thought that was really cool.”
And as to whether she’ll play the fan-favourite character of Eowyn again?
“I don’t know, never say never. But it’s just got to make sense, you know, it’s got to make sense in the universe, and this did so I’m happy”.
Boyens hinted the creative juices are definitely still flowing, and that she was definitely keen to see the universe expand further.
“Now all I can think of is all of these other stories we want to tell”.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim hits cinemas nationwide on December 12.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.
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