Lord of the Rings anime slated for April 2024 release — here’s the first look

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the feature-length anime announced in 2021, is slated for an April 12, 2024 release date, Warner Bros. Pictures announced Monday in a news release. The movie, which is a joint project with Warner Bros. Animation and New Line Cinema, is directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus) and executive produced by Philippa Boyens (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit trilogies).

Alongside the release date, Warner Bros. shared some concept art from the film, created by Weta Workshop. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will tell the story of Helm’s Deep, focusing on the “life and bloodsoaked times of one of Middle-earth’s most legendary figures; the mighty King of Rohan — Helm Hammerhand.”

Helm’s Deep, of course, is one location that was featured heavily in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Image: Weta Workshop/Warner Bros. Pictures

Joseph Chou (Blade Runner: Black Lotus) will produce, with a script from Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, based on a script from Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews — the same team who created The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. John Howe and Richard Taylor will return to The Lord of the Rings creative team, Warner Bros. said. Animation work started last year, Warner Bros. added, with voice casting “to be announced imminently.” Warner Bros. chariman Toby Emmerich said The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will be “unlike anything audiences have ever seen.”