The voice cast for The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim has been revealed.
As reported by Deadline, the new animated feature will star Succession's Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand, the king who leads the nation of Rohan through one of its most tumultuous periods of history. Cox will lead an ensemble cast that also includes Gaia Wise (A Walk in The Woods) as Helm's daughter, Hera, while Luke Pasqualino (Skins) will portray the prequel's antagonist, the Dunlending lord Wulf. Miranda Otto, who played the role of Helm's distant descendant Eowyn in New Line Cinema's live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, will return to narrate the movie.
The ensemble cast will also include the talents of Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Michael Wildman (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Benjamin Wainwright (World on Fire), Shaun Dooley (Netflix’s The Witcher), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Janine Duvitski (Benidorm), and Bilal Hasna (Sparks) in undisclosed roles.
Set almost 200 years before the start of Frodo's journey in The Fellowship of the Ring, the War of the Rohirrim tells the star of Helm Hammerhand, the ninth king of Rohan. When his kingdom draws the ire of the Dundeling leader Wulf, who blames Rohan for the death of his father, Helm leads his people in the fortress that will eventually become known as Helm's Deep, to make a desperate last stand against the invading wildmen hoardes. The movie will also focus on Helm's daughter, Hera, as she leads a resistance force to fight back against a deadly enemy.
The prequel movie is being directed by Kenji Kamiyama, an anime industry veteran who is best known for his work on the Ghost in the Shell franchise, and is being produced by Joseph Chou, who previously worked with Kamiyama on 2021's Blade Runner: Black Lotus animated series, and Philippa Bowens, who was previously a member of the scriptwriting team for both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies. The film's animation is being produced by Sola Entertainment, a Japanese animation studio specializing in computer-generated imagery that is known for its work on shows such as Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 and Netflix's Ultraman series.
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim will premiere in theaters on April 24, 2024.
Source: Deadline