Earlier this week, Sony Pictures was mocked by many for releasing the opening 8 minutes of Kraven the Hunter. It was deemed a "desperate" move to increase interest in the studio's latest Marvel movie which shares a release date - December 13 - with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
Warner Bros. Discovery has today responded by releasing the first 8 minutes of its animated prequel, offering fans a better idea of what to expect from this adventure.
In The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an original anime feature being released in theaters by New Line Cinema, we'll return to Middle-earth, the iconic world previously brought to life in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, based on the revered books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The impressive voice cast is led by Brian Cox (Succession) as Helm Hammerhand, the mighty King of Rohan; Gaia Wise (A Walk in the Woods) as his daughter Héra; and Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer) as Wulf. Miranda Otto, who delivered an unforgettable, award-winning performance in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, reprises her role as Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, who serves as the tale’s narrator.
Neither this movie nor Kraven the Hunter are expected to make a huge impact at the box office later this month, so Warner Bros. really had nothing to lose by sharing this extended preview.
Outside of an impressive voice cast, it does look like the sort of movie typically released by Warner Bros. Animation on Digital and Blu-ray. It's also hard to say how much of a draw The War of the Rohirrim will be to anyone who isn't a hardcore fan of The Lord of the Rings.
You can watch this 8-minute clip in the players below (via ComicBookMovie.com).
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.
Under the direction of Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus), the movie is produced by Oscar winner Philippa Boyens, from the screenwriting team behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, alongside Jason DeMarco and Joseph Chou, who, in addition to their many separate animation projects, collaborated on the Blade Runner: Black Lotus series.
The executive producers are Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Sam Register, Carolyn Blackwood and Toby Emmerich. The screenplay is by Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou, story by Addiss & Matthews and Boyens, based on characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The voice ensemble also includes Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (World on Fire), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), Shaun Dooley (The Witcher), Michael Wildman (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Bilal Hasna (Sparks) and Janine Duvitski (Benidorm).
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim arrives in theaters on December 13.