Lord of the Rings: Where is the War of the Rohirrim located in the saga’s chronology?

what are you talking about

Set 183 years before the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this new chapter explores the history of House Helm Hammerfist, King of Rohan. Faced with a surprise attack from Wulf, a vengeful and cruel lord, Helm and his men barricade themselves in Hornburg Castle, named after Helm’s Deep. In this desperate battle, Hera, daughter of Helm, must muster the courage to lead the resistance against an enemy bent on destroying her people.

So is this a prequel?

quite. As the official synopsis makes clear, the story takes place two decades before the adventures of Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring. Because of their great age, J.R.R. In Tolkien’s books, adapted for film by Peter Jackson, certain characters are (Saruman) or mentioned (Gandalf), and Éowyn, who appeared in The Two Towers and The Return of the King under the guise of Miranda. Otto is responsible for the narration of this prequel.

Was this story in the books?

yes and no The War of the Rohirrim appears in the novels, but is only the subject of a short story in the appendices. “The Lord of the Rings”And his hero Hera is not even mentioned. “In one of his letters, Professor Tolkien said that often the most interesting stories are the ones that are not told.”explains producer Philippa Boyens, who also worked on Peter Jackson’s feature films.

“The mystery surrounding unused narrative elements has always attracted him. So we plunged back into the world of the books and pulled out all the story elements we found there, without neglecting those on the periphery of the story. I don’t want to tell you the Ring of Power or the story of the Dark Lord. Likewise, and in addition to sharing a common location, War of the Rohirrim is similar to the Two Towers in that the notion of siege (and thus immobility) takes precedence over travel.

We didn’t want to tell the story of the Ring of Power or the Dark Lord

“The question of whether we would return to this world first came up around 2019 when a studio asked us if we were interested in an animated film.”– he tells us at the beginning of December. “But then you had to figure out what form of animation and what story, which was not as easy as you imagined. Then someone suggested its animation. Which, at first, is not immediately clear and even happens. Some people are nervous.”

“But as soon as the idea for the anime came, I thought of this story. I told him that for me the War of the Rohirrim and the story of Helm Hammerfist would become the thing, because there are themes, elements of that. A story that would fit perfectly into the great tradition of Japanese animated films and their cinematic histories in general.

Is there a connection to the series “Rings of Power”?

No. Because the Prime Video show, which aired its second season this year, takes place well before the War of the Rohirrim, which Philippa Boyens didn’t want to say. “The History of the Ring of Power or the Dark Lord”As you have already read above. And above all, The Rings of Power has less to do with Peter Jackson’s feature films than with Tolkien’s stories, of which it is a prequel, where Kenji Kamiyama’s opus (Blade Runner: Black Lotus), while having its own style, is. Part of the same universe as in the cinema from 2001-2014.

Was Peter Jackson in this movie?

“Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh was always on my shoulder”Philippa Boyens answers. “Not always, but they were there. They were amazing because I called them so many times when we were stuck. For example, Fran called her Hera when we weren’t there. We didn’t know what to do. I knew her name had to start with an H because we We had Helm, Hallett, Hama, H… (laughs) We thought about Hilda, Helga, but we didn’t think of coming from the source Fran suggested Hera and we were there too, it was very beautiful and we went in that direction.

“And Peter was always there for Kenji Kamiyama. He wanted him to develop his own vision, so he really took a step back, but there were times when Kenji needed input from Weta Digital, like the scenery, and Peter wanted. Tell them to give it to him. All that was needed.” “We had to establish continuity between his films and mine.”Kenji Kamiyama adds. “So he made sure to give us everything we needed, and kept repeating that I was the director and that I had to take the ideas to make them my true collaboration.”

“And when they saw the first cut, they gave us very, very good feedback.”Philippa Boyens adds. We had to re-read it because it was so good (laughs, so they’ve always been there for us, in a way).

Is this movie just for fans?

“There are plenty of easter eggs for movie and book fans”Gaia Wise, Emma Thompson’s daughter and Hera’s voice actress in the original version, answers. “In particular, we’re going back to Helm’s Deep, we’re seeing the Rohirrim in a different light, and because it’s a prequel, we’re seeing the ancestors of the characters we know and love. And for those who have never seen The Lord of the Rings. , is simply a brilliant film, a beautiful story that is visually stunning. Are you sure about returning to Middle Earth?

Comments collected by Maximilien Pierret in London on 2 December 2024