You Can Watch Part of the Newest 'Lord of the Rings' Movie Online Right Now
For the first time in ten years, since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies hit theaters in 2014, there is a new Lord of the Rings feature film about to release. And for those who are obsessed with the Riders of Rohan—as exemplified by the heroic shield-maiden Eowyn (Miranda Otto)—the new movie will deliver the Rohan goods in a big way.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, which takes place roughly 100 years before the One Ring ever came to Bilbo Baggins. To be clear, this movie has nothing to do with The Rings of Power, which is a prequel series that takes place thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In other words, The War of the Rohirrim is spiritually very close to the Peter Jackson films, even though it's an animated feature. Narrated by Eowyn (Otto, reprising her role), it tells the story of another shield-maiden of Rohan, Héra (Gaia Wise), who finds herself in a massive inter-kingdom war after her father, King Helm (Brian Cox), kills a rival king in battle.
Full of beauty and the majestic sweep we think of when we think of Middle-earth, The War of the Rohirrim is also a stand-alone film, that won’t require people to scratch their heads or consult their Tolkien books while watching. And now, you can watch an eight-minute extended preview of the film online right now.
There's a lot going on in the preview clip. First, there’s a concern that King Helm Hammerhand has come back from the dead as a kind of “wraith,” that he’s slaying people left and right because he's “human no more.”
There’s also a scene in which we see some hapless orcs collecting random rings, which they’re bringing back to their lord, Sauron. This little detail is connected to the larger Lord of the Rings story, but don’t worry too much about seeing those rings in this movie. Instead, The War of the Rohirrim is all about a hidden hero in Middle-earth, and how Rohan became what it was leading up to the beginning of The Hobbit. (Note some outlets have said this preview footage is the first eight minutes of the new movie. But it’s not. We’ve seen the full movie. This is closer to the end of the first third.)
It’s hard to believe it’s been 22 years since Return of the King ended the theatrical run of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But, for those who have been longing to return to Middle-earth, The War of the Rohirrim will feel like an unexpected Christmas present.