I’m Now Confident That War Of The Rohirrim Will Do A Legendary Lord Of The Rings Character Justice

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be coming out on December 13 and has released a short clip that makes me confident the movie will treat its source material with respect. More than that, I think The War of the Rohirrim movie will deliver a genuinely entertaining spectacle, which was always up for debate, to a certain extent. As the first official animated Lord of the Rings movie, I questioned whether the magic of the original trilogy could be captured here. But I think that, at the very least, one key character will be done justice.

The new War of the Rohirrim movie will adapt a short story from Appendix A of LotR called “The House of Eorl,” which sketches its characters in very brief outlines. As such, it was easy for me to imagine that the movie would take major liberties with its narrative and the moving pieces within it. Indeed, the movie has made some major changes to the story. But I am now feeling confident that it will address Helm Hammerhand with respect. He is the main character of “The House of Eorl,” so he needs to be done right in this movie.

Helm Hammerhand Lives Up To His Reputation In The War Of The Rohirrim’s New Clip

It Looks Like Helm Will Be Faithful To LOTR In War Of The Rohirrim

After watching the new Warner Bros. clip, I am really looking forward to seeing The War of the Rohirrim’s Helm Hammerhand on screen, as I believe he will communicate Tolkien’s themes quite clearly. As a lifelong fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, I value faithfulness in adaptations of his work. I see this as a matter of adhering to “the core” of the original, which was Tolkien’s idea of faithfulness, as he stated in a letter. The War of the Rohirrim’s Helm does embody what was key about him in the text.

In “The House of Eorl,” Helm Hammerhand is all about the grayscale morality of the human race. This does come through in the movie clip. Helm Hammerhand is a monster and a myth, rather than a man. In Appendix A, “The House of Eorl” functions as a historical document, laying out the myths of Rohan that were passed down from generation to generation. Helm was not a clearly detailed and psychologically profiled leader; he was a terrifying, homicidal, vengeful demon, driven by dubious justification. He is one of LotR’s most nuanced characters, and the movie will capture this.

Helm Must Be Morally Gray In War Of The Rohirrim

Warner Bros.’ new movie clip reminds me why The War of the Rohirrim is important for LotR, portraying Helm as it should. Rohan is based on Anglo-Saxon culture. The Rohirrim tell the story of early English people in Lord of the Rings. Tolkien funneled his love of this culture, its poetry, and of his own culture into the Rohirrim, emphasizing how deeply human they were compared to other civilizations or species. Théoden, Éowyn, and Helm are all flawed heroes and better for it. Helm’s murderous rage in his Dunlending war was borderline villainous, which the movie is set to capture.

Warner Bros.’ clip goes into detail about the key part of Helm’s story, which the rest of the movie will expand on. Helm and his people were besieged in what came to be known as Helm’s Deep during the Rohirrim’s war with the Dunlendings. Helm went out at night — according to legend — killing enemies with his bare hands. The movie takes the tone of a ghost story, capturing Helm’s larger-than-life terror. Then, the clip goes into thriller territory, exploring the mystery of Helm’s nightly escapes. I am excited to see where the movie’s Helm will fall on the hero-villain scale.

The War Of The Rohirrim’s Approach To Helm Makes Up For A Controversial Choice

The War Of The Rohirrim Clip Explains The Movie’s Approach

The War of the Rohirrim has faithfully chosen to project Helm Hammerhand as a myth, more than a man, which actually makes sense of its controversial lead character decision. The War of the Rohirrim’s Héra will be the main character, in the place of Helm, who is the main character of the short story in The Lord of the Rings. Although Helm is the lead of the source material, making him the lead of a movie would require being less faithful to the text, in a strange, roundabout way.

The War of the Rohirrim’s main character choice makes more sense to me after seeing its treatment of Helm. The movie will respect The Lord of the Rings’ vision of Helm as a ghost story. It will also weave detail into his arc, but making Helm the main character of a whole movie would probably have required going so much in depth that it would have ruined the mystery a bit. Having Héra lead the movie is wise. In the source material, she is Helm’s unnamed daughter, but in the movie, she can tell her own story.

Héra is only mentioned in one line of the movie’s source material. In that sense, amplifying her role is unfaithful. However, in a way, it is the best choice the movie could have made. Héra is a blank slate, and there can be little harm in developing her in a project clearly removed from Tolkien’s original premise. This is anime; it was always going to have its own spirit and a female warrior fits the bill. I can’t wait to see how The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim builds out Helm — and his daughter.

Set before the events of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated action-adventure fantasy film that follows a King of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand. When his home comes under siege by Dunlendings, Hammerhand prepares himself and his allies to fight back against them, with the war leading to the eventual establishment of Helm’s Deep.

Director

Kenji Kamiyama

Release Date

December 13, 2024

Studio(s)

New Line Cinema , Warner Bros. Animation , Sola Entertainment

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Runtime

134 Minutes

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