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What is the connection between War of the Rohirrim and the Lord of the Rings films?

Madoc Meredith Posted on August 24, 2024

Helm Hammerhand and his family

The War of the Rohirrim takes place 183 years before The Lord of the Rings trilogy and thousands of years after the events of The Rings of Power. It is a time of relative peace for Middle Earth, albeit an uneasy peace. Sauron is still alive and quietly begins to reestablish his power and seek the elusive One Ring. The trailer alludes to this in its final scene, where we see a treasure hunter collecting rings in the service of Mordor. Unfortunately for Sauron, the One Ring is still firmly in Gollum’s clutches deep in the Misty Mountains.

In this earlier period of the Third Age of Middle-earth, man has more to fear from his fellow humans than from the Orcs of Mordor. The War of the Rohirrim focuses on Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) and his family. Helm is the King of Rohan. The nickname “Hammerhand” comes from the fact that his strength and skill in unarmed combat are legendary. He’s basically the Middle-earth version of the community character Kickpuncher – his punches are just so powerful. We see that in the trailer.

Tolkien used the appendices in the Lord of the Rings novels to further describe Helm and his two sons, Hama and Haleth. There we learn that Helm ruled Rohan during a protracted conflict with the Dunlendings (the franchise’s answer to the Wildlings from Game of Thrones). Helm is considered the ninth ruler of Rohan and the last of the original line of kings.

The film, however, takes particular interest in a character who is only mentioned in passing in Tolkien’s works: his daughter. She is not even mentioned by name in the original appendices, but appears to be the central protagonist of The War of the Rohirrim. Her name is Hèra (Gaia Wise). Hèra is far from Tolkien’s typical female characters. She is a rebellious tomboy who takes it upon herself to save her kingdom when the specter of war looms.

“In the appendices from which the story comes, we find these quite interestingly drawn male characters, and then there is this young female character who is never mentioned by name – and I found that really interesting,” Producer Philippa Boyens said in an interview with People Magazine. “We know Helm has a daughter, and we know she was at the center of the conflict. But I, and especially screenwriter Phoebe Gittins, were drawn to her. We could feel the burden that this nameless daughter brings with her, and that immediately piqued our interest: Who was she? How did she live?”

Since The War of the Rohirrim takes place nearly two centuries before the Lord of the Rings films, fans shouldn’t expect appearances by familiar characters like Bernard Hill’s King Théoden or Brad Dourif’s Grima Wormtongue. However, the new film contains an important connection to Rohan’s future. Miranda Otto will reprise the role of Éowyn as the film’s narrator. The idea is that The War of the Rohirrim will be presented in the oral tradition, a legend passed down through generations of Rohan’s citizens.

The villain of the Rohirrim War

The War of the Rohirrim is unique in the franchise in that it is a film about war between human races. There is no dark ruler lurking over the battlefield (though we can’t guarantee that Sauron won’t manipulate the conflict to weaken a potential threat). Helm and his people aren’t fighting Orcs or Uruk-Hai. This is a man-versus-man story, and the “villain” is unusually sympathetic.

As the trailer shows, the conflict begins when a Dunland noble named Freca (Shaun Dooley) tries to arrange a marriage between Hèra and his son Wulf (Luke Pasqualino). Despite their shared past, the independent Hèra has no interest in being part of a political marriage. And when it becomes clear that Freca covets the throne of Rohan, Helm calls the whole thing off. This leads to a brawl between the two rulers, where Helm lives up to his nickname Hammerhand and kills Freca with a single blow.

Wulf is understandably desperate and declares war on Rohan, seeking revenge for his murdered father. In the film, we see Wulf gather his own people, as well as mercenaries from the Easterlings and Hardrim, and build an army that can take on what is probably the most impressive force in Middle Earth today.

Again, Wulf is a unique villain in the franchise. Not only is he human, but he’s also much more well-intentioned than the evil wizards and battle-hardened orcs we’re used to. He’s simply a son mourning his father. Hèra is clearly willing to fight in defense of her homeland, but winning that fight may depend more on appealing to Wulf’s innate humanity and love than defeating the Dunlendings on the battlefield.

Speaking of battlefields: In “The War of the Rohirrim” an iconic piece from “The Two Towers” ​​returns. We will see the fortress of Helm’s Deep again and find out why it was given this name in the first place.

The creatures of Middle Earth

Although this film is about a war between humans, that doesn’t mean we won’t encounter some of Middle-earth’s more fantastical creatures.

The trailer offers several glimpses of the giant eagles featured in both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. The eagles have proven crucial in some of the greatest battles of the Third Age of Middle Earth. The question is, why are they getting involved now? Why are these notoriously reclusive creatures bothering with a war between rival human factions? That could hint at a deeper darkness to the conflict in this film.

We also see several shots of a Mûmakil, the gigantic elephant-like creatures from The Return of the King. The Mûmakil are used primarily as war beasts by the Haradrim, and are terrifyingly effective at that task. Can the warriors of Rohan stand up to these beasts without the help of an elven sniper like Legolas?

However, the Mûmakil will not be the most fearsome monster seen in War of the Rohirrim. The trailer includes a shot of a Mûmakil being attacked and dragged underwater by a tentacled monster. This appears to be the same species as the Watcher in the Water from The Fellowship of the Ring. This beast guarded the waters outside Helm’s Deep. This is likely not the same one, but just a similar monster that haunts another body of water in Middle Earth.

Will we see familiar characters from The Lord of the Rings?

As mentioned, the time of the War of the Rohirrim makes it difficult for many of the familiar faces from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to appear. This is before the time of Aragorn and Frodo. And while elven characters like Legolas, Elrond, and Galadriel are certainly alive in this era, they have little reason to interfere in the affairs of men at this particular time. Otto’s Éowyn may end up being the only character from The Lord of the Rings to “appear” in this prequel.

Still, there’s room for more cameos if the filmmakers want to include them. It’s always possible we’ll see one or more of the wizards of Middle Earth. The elves may not care about Rohan’s plight, but Ian McKellen’s Gandalf might. At this point in the timeline, Gandalf is very busy roaming Middle Earth, righting wrongs and helping to prepare for the inevitable return of Sauron. He surely knows that a weakened Rohan is bad news for everyone.

McKellen himself recently Cast doubt on the idea of ​​taking on the role of Gandalf again in live-action, citing his age. But animation could be a different story entirely. And seeing Gandalf on film would certainly add context to his relationship with the Rohirrim in The Two Towers.

There is also the possibility that Saruman will make an appearance, as he too is responsible for maintaining peace in Middle Earth during this turbulent time. In fact, Tolkien noted that Saruman took up residence in Isengard shortly after the conflict between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings, so the film could shed some light on this event.

Since actor Christopher Lee passed away in 2015, Warners unfortunately needs to recast the role. This could be a job for Corey Burton, who voiced Lee’s character Count Dooku in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. We would like to see a slightly younger Saruman, before he openly supported Sauron and planned the downfall of humanity.

Which character from The Lord of the Rings would you most like to see in The War of the Rohirrim? Vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments below:

More news about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns to Prime Video on August 29. At IGN Live we have a closer look at how the story of The Rings of Power continues with Season 2. A new film called The Hunt for Gollum was also announced in May. and promises to deliver a feature film directed by Andy Serkis focusing on Sméagol in 2026.

Jesse is a mild-mannered editor at IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by Follow @jschedeen on Twitter.