'We Can't Ruin' Tolkien's Books: Lord of the Rings Writer Philippa Boyens on The War of the Rohirrim

Опубликовано 13 декабря 2024, 13:00

It started, of course, with J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Adaptations followed over the years, first on radio, then in animation, before Peter Jackson finally brought the realm of Middle-earth to a worldwide audience with his acclaimed LOTR trilogy. Since then, the adaptations have continued, with the newest take being an anime-style film that peers into a previously untold chapter of Tolkien’s world: The War of the Rohirrim.

Coming from Jackson trilogy co-writer Philippa Boyens and studio New Line, The War of the Rohirrim dives into Tokien’s Lord of the Rings appendices to fill in some of the gaps of Middle-earth history. But it also is very clearly set in the Peter Jackson version of Tolkien’s fantasy world.

We talked to Boyens and producer Jason DeMarco about how they cracked the code on telling a brand new Lord of the Rings story while managing to stay true not just to Tolkien, but to Peter Jackson too. The pair also spoke about what director Kenji Kamiyama brought to War of the Rohirrim, which is set 180 years before The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as how Weta Workshop came back to help design the look of the film, how important it was for Miranda Otto to return to voice her LOTR character Eowyn, and the decision to make Hera, Helm’s daughter (voiced by Gaia Wise), the main character of the anime.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim stars the voices of Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand, Gaia Wise as Hera, Luke Pasqualino as Wulf, and Miranda Otto as Eowyn. Be sure to watch the full video for our chat with producer/co-writer Philippa Boyens and executive producer Jason DeMarco!

#IGN