Today in Annecy attending press were treated to glimpses of the upcoming film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. TORn didn’t have anyone present there, but the good folks at Warner Bros. were kind enough to share with us some of the first movie images being revealed; and we had a chance to sit down again, before Annecy, with producer Philippa Boyens, to chat some more about this hotly anticipated movie – and other returns to Middle-earth, coming in the future.
Feast your eyes on the images! And enjoy the conversation between Boyens and staffer greendragon.
GD: Hi Philippa, thanks for taking this time – and it’s very, very exciting to see some images. We all just can’t wait to see it and are excited for what’s going to be revealed at Annecy – and these three images that we have to look at. So, I have a million questions but can we plunge straight into the images?
PB: Absolutely.
HÉRA voiced by GAIA WISE in New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Animation’s epic anime adventure “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
GD: Great. I’m looking at the first one that was sent to me, which presumably is Hera, our heroine. And the first thing I have to ask you – and I don’t know if you’re going to be able to answer this question: is that Herugrim that we see in her hand there? Is that the 500-year-old heirloom of Rohan that ends up with Theoden?
PB: Well, given some of the concept artists that were involved in this film, I would say that’s probably a pretty good guess. You know the attention to detail that those guys go into. So people like Daniel Falconer and, of course, John Howe, Alan Lee, you know. And then the brilliant Japanese concept artists, not just animators but concept artists as well, have worked on this. We’ve just been spoiled, honestly, absolutely spoiled.
GD: I can well imagine! Talk to me a little bit about this character Hera, because I’ve been fascinated by some of the things I’ve read that you’ve said in other interviews, about her being inspired somewhat by the Lady of the Mercians, Aethelflaed. And your talk of that reminded me also of Matilda, the daughter of Henry I, who was known as Lady of the English. So we’ve got these early medieval women who did not end up ruling, but who kept the country together in these powerful, strong ways. And clearly in this image, Hera is being very fierce. It looks like her sword is touching someone’s shoulder that we’re just seeing in the edge of the picture. Tell me a little bit about this strong female character that I’m very excited to see.
PB: Yes, she is a strong female character; but what I really love about her, she’s a very real female character – which I think is a strength of what Professor Tolkien did with the Rohirrim, and we’ve drawn on that. Eowyn was drawn so beautifully. I mean, you know, of course, with Galadriel and Arwen, you’re dealing with immortals, you’re dealing with the quality of, I was going to say the fae, but I won’t say that, but that otherworldly quality that is inherent in the elves. With Eowyn, I always felt that she was drawn in a very real way. And so we’ve kind of tried to continue in that tradition.
She’s not named in the books and we do point that out – I won’t tell you how! – but I do think it’s interesting that often women remain unnamed. There’s an unnamed daughter in Beowulf, for example. That was immediately intriguing; but what i do say is i don’t feel in any way that Professor Tolkien was slighting that character in not naming her. I think he hadn’t gotten around to telling that part of the story; and i do believe that if he had told that part of the story, given that he was a Mercian of sorts himself, how could he not perhaps have drawn on alfred the great’s daughter? And so she felt authentic. Although, having said that, I know he also said that the Rohirrim were not pure Anglo-Saxon derivatives, you know, there’s a lot of other facets to them – including his own imagination that he drew upon.
But I’m so glad you mentioned Matilda, because I think in the same vein, you’re absolutely right, that somehow they had the facility to hold their people together without necessarily having the title of ruler. They were leaders because they showed leadership and courage when it was needed. It’s resilience, you know, often time and time again, they show something special and save their people. , I think that that was one of the things that drew us to her.
And we wanted to make sure that she was as authentically human as she could be. So she’s not without doubts. She’s not without fears. She is constrained by the strictures of the society in which she’s been brought up. She’s beloved by her father – we know that from the very beginning of the storytelling. This is what we’ve come up with, you know; because we have known brothers. We have Haleth and Hama. And we can imagine who they are. And so when it came to Hera, we thought it would be interesting that just as Théoden had that relationship with Éowyn, that kind of the interesting thing following that thread through with Helm. First he loses Haleth, he loses Hama, he loses all his sons.
And although Hera is, you know, growing up – we killed off the mother, by the way, because she’s not named either. So we imagined her growing up, raised by a warrior king, alongside two brothers who, you know, there would be a genuinely tomboyishness to her nature, that she was allowed to have a bit of a free reign when she was younger. But when it comes down to it, especially now that she’s getting older, she comes face to face with the fact that, you know what, there are strictures in this society and there are roles for women in this society that her father still expects her to fulfill.
So, sure, he let her have a bit of a free reign and she was a bit of a wild child growing up,but never once did Helm think she would do anything other than that. and fulfill her duties and so it’s really interesting that that is part of his journey of his character to sort of suddenly discover that his daughter is stronger than he knew, which is really interesting. I love the relationship between those two characters that we’ve managed to find in there.
(L-r) HÉRA Voiced by GAIA WISE, HELM HAMMERHAND voiced by BRIAN COX, HALETH Voiced by BENJAMIN WAINWRIGHT and HAMA voiced by YAZDAN QAFOURI in New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Animation’s epic anime adventure “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
GD: And great actors voicing those two characters. [Brian Cox and Gaia Wise]
PB: Oh, my God, wonderful. Honestly, I don’t think anyone else genuinely could have played Hera, but Gaia Wise, she was perfect. She has all of the elements that you want. She’s got so much life in her, and she has that tomboyishness to her, but she also has a kind of, she’s full of curiosity. She’s very intelligent. She’s got a great sense of humor, and so she’s quick, and she’s got a ready laugh, and I can imagine a little bit of wildness about her, but she’s got a heart. You know, that was the thing that got her – she’s got a huge heart.
She fell off her bike. (I hope she doesn’t mind me telling you this!) She got, because she was biking to the ADR session to do some recording, and she actually came off. She got knocked off her bike. She had a big graze on her leg, and I was appalled. I was like, oh, my God, we’ve got to do something. It was absolutely determined to just keep going because I think she was focused. Of course. She was in the zone. She felt, no, look, it’s going to be fine. I’m not, you know, nothing’s broken. And she just got straight into it, and I was just looking at her thinking. Oh my God, you are Hera. The warrior.
GD: I’m looking at the third image we saw, of Wulf outside. He certainly looks like a Dunlending, with the dark hair. I’m looking at that sort of darkness. And you were just saying before about how the Rohirrim are people, they are humans and they have a reality to them and a human quality that, of course, we don’t get in the immortals, the Maiar, the Elves. This is a tale of men.
WULF voiced by LUKE PASQUALINO New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Animation’s epic anime adventure “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
PB: What’s fascinating is the choices that Wulf makes. There is a moment, I think, where he could have, you know, conquering Edoras, if he’d settled down and become a good and wise ruling king, none of this history would have been spoken of. You know, it would have been a challenge by one lord to a lord whose time had potentially passed.
And, given the culture, (which, again, we set up very early on), this is a people who, although he is a king, they are subservient to Gondor, that in itself creates certain levels of tensions; and that although he is a king, he rules by consent, not by right. And so Wulf, if he’d made the right choices, it would have been a different story.
He doesn’t. He makes other choices, and they’re very interesting choices – and where those choices come from is really fascinating. He’s one of my favourite characters ever that we’ve ever created. He and Hera are so strong. They’re wonderful.
And, of course, Brian Cox is just brilliant as Helm. I have to say, no surprise! Unsurprisingly brilliant, which is fantastic for us and for the fans. I think they’re just going to love him.
GD: So with Annecy coming up – which is very exciting… Of course, we’re all reeling with excitement of the news of the ‘Hunt for Gollum’ movie. And I see that Andy Serkis is going to be there to host a panel with you, at Annecy. I noticed looking back on last year’s Annecy that in an interview there, you said that this movie and this story, this animated film, would be ‘a good way back into’ the world of Middle-earth. Did you have an inkling then that this (The War of the Rohirrim) was, to quote Gandalf, the falling of small stones that would start an avalanche? Did you think there was going to be more coming?
PB: Yes, I did. I did. I myself personally felt up for it. It was one of those things where you go back to something that, I mean, you know, you can lose yourself sometimes in making a film. And you kind of lose, you know, I’ve always found that the books were my comfort read. They were the thing that I always had that I could fall into. And in a way, doing the films destroyed that to a certain level.
What was interesting is going back into this and going back into a part of the story that was so fresh to me. And I think it’s going to be fresh to the audience and yet familiar, which is also brilliant. It re-energized me. I don’t know what it was, but it made me think, you know what – I do love telling stories within this world. It feels like a natural fit.
And I love the passion of the fans. I genuinely mean that, absolutely. You can tell all the members of the Torn community of TheOneRing that they’re always sitting on my shoulder.
GD: But in a good way!
PB: In the best possible way. Because, you know, you’ve got to have such respect for the passion that’s involved there. And I think it’s entirely appropriate and we should be held to a really high standard. And I think Kenji Kamiyama has not only met that standard, he’s smashed it. He had the bar and then he smashed his way through it and set it somewhere even higher. So it’s fantastic. Can’t wait for you guys to see it.
GD: We can’t wait to see it. It’s so exciting. You know, this year, TheOneRing.net is 25 years old. It’s our silver anniversary! Who would have thought we would be not only still going, but here having the chance to talk to you about new projects. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! Our staffer Demosthenes [who chatted with PB before] asked me to just casually ask you, are we going to see Saruman?
PB: [laughs] I can neither confirm nor deny that! I really can’t. I think he’s, I have to tell you, he’s very acute and perceptive – and some of the things that he was supposing were very much on the money in terms of when he saw the mumaks and things like that. And I thought that was really interesting. But that one I’m not giving him. Tell him I’m sorry!
GD: I’ll tell him! Well, it’s so great to talk, Philippa. Have a great time in Annecy, and I hope we can connect again; and we just can’t wait for everything that’s coming up. Thank you so much.
PB: I’m always happy to talk to you guys, absolutely.
Huge thanks to Philippa Boyens, and to Warner Bros. for affording us this exclusive interview. A closer look at these first images is coming soon!
The Annecy Film Festival “second look” at The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim has just concluded and reactions are starting to trickle out.
It sounds like a lot of people were quite impressed. Variety described the footage as “epic” and stated that the showing received “thunderous applause”.
Screendaily probably has the most comprehensive report so far and has the news from Philippa Boyens that Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson are on board as executive producers.
“They’ve been huge supporters of this film from the very beginning; they’ve stayed in the background a little, but I’m proud to reveal that they’ve been with us all along and are in fact our executive producers.
“They wanted to stay in the background because Peter in particular wanted to give Kenji the space to find his own way into the film,” added Boyens, who produces The War Of The Rohirrim with Joseph Chou.
Warner Bros/New Line screened 20 minutes of the film to the Annecy audience. It was followed by a panel hosted by Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Jackson’s Rings trilogy, with Boyens, Kamiyama, Chou and executive producer Jason DeMarco present.
“We did not want to make an animated version of a Peter Jackson film,” said DeMarco. “We wanted to make a Kenji Kamiyama animated feature film that lives within that world. That’s a difficult task that requires a lot of delicate balancing between two types of filmmaking that haven’t collided like this before.”
Here’s a quick selection of instant reactions and good ol’ hot takes.
A super exciting event and incredible audience reaction. Six months to go! #waroftherohirrim @stephengallaghermusic
Had the pleasure of seeing a sneak peak of The Lords of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Honestly it’s absolutely stunning and I can’t wait for it to be released in cinemas. #JosephatAnnecy #AnnecyFestival #LOTR #Anime
It’s not long until Warner Bros. Animation unveils its long-awaited second look at Kenji Kamiyama’s The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim at the 2024 Annecy Film Festival.
The 90-minute presentation, hosted by Andy Serkis (Hunt for Gollum tie-in, anyone?), will feature the first 20 minutes (or so) of Kamiyama’s 130-minute-long feature anime. People with good memories will recognise how this mirrors their appearance at the same event this time last year.
Source: War of the Rohirrim Producer Jason DeMarco
It will be interesting to hear if they show it all in single sequence, or as a series of snapshots as they did last year. It will also be very interesting to hear about the progress the animation team has made on the raw, rather-unfinished footage that they screened last year.
The Annecy presentation will also finally bring some support to the lonely promotional furrow that composer Stephen Gallagher has been ploughing this year.
On our Discord channel dedicated to all things WOTR, we’ve been closely following the trail of hints he’s been leaving on his Instagram account but I’ve long thought his efforts deserve a wider audience. So I’m going to take a thousand words or so to update you all on what’s been happening on the musical front!
Gallagher, in case you’re unaware, is a New Zealand composer and award-winning music editor. He is probably best-known to Tolkien fans for his work on The Hobbit where, as well as working as music editor on all three films, he composed the songs ‘Blunt the Knives’ and ‘The Torture Song’ for An Unexpected Journey. Read up on him in our backgrounding post here.
He obliquely revealed on his Instagram account around the end of February that The War of the Rohirrim production had shifted to scoring and recording music.
On February 25 he posted a tiny snippet of score from a piece titled “2. M03 Business” with a simple caption “Time for business…”, showing parts for at least Cor Anglais (otherwise known as English Horn), bass clarinet, (probably bass) bassoon and crumhorn. Additional, unknown, instruments are obviously further down.
Despite the absence of a key signature, TORn Discord moderator Lasswen promptly placed the score snippet into notation program Musescore4 to gauge what it might sound like, working on the assumption that it was scored in concert pitch.
We’d like to emphasise that this is our approximation based on the score provided with the notation inputted into a program to recreate the sheet music we could see, then exported as an mp3 — it’s not the *actual* thing. You can have a listen below.
2. M03 BUSINESS
Lasswen notes that
“… aside from what other instruments are in that piece, let alone missing from that sample (eg. there’s two bars after the contra bassoon that we don’t know if it’s silence or something else lower on the score is filling in), I think it’s also interesting to note that typically if piccolo, flute, oboe or trumpets were in it they would have been in that section we saw. Most of what’s there are low bass instruments.”
We like the creepy, unsettled sound.
Now, that might indicate a monster theme since both Executive Producer Philippa Boyens and Producer DeMarco have mentioned we should expect monsters — that there are things lurking in the White Mountains.
But there are other possibilities — particularly if, as we suspect, the numbers indicate that “Business” is a piece that arrives early in the film.
The initial, fatal conflict that arises between Helm and Freca is underpinned by an enormous amount of unease. Further, Freca, is there on his own business — the business of marriage.
‘To one of these councils Freca rode with many men, and he asked the hand of Helm’s daughter for his son Wulf. But Helm said: “You have grown big since you were last here; but it is mostly fat, I guess”; and men laughed at that, for Freca was wide in the belt.
‘Then Freca fell in a rage and reviled the king, and said this at the last: “Old kings that refuse a proffered staff may fall on their knees.” Helm answered: “Come! The marriage of your son is a trifle. Let Helm and Freca deal with it later. Meanwhile the king and his council have matters of moment to consider.”
The Lord of the Rings. Appendix A: The House of Eorl.
The “business” of the title may well be the attempt to arrange a match between Wulf and Hera. It seems an excellent fit. Could it be as Freca enters the Golden Hall and approaches Helm’s throne?
The “courtly” tone of the crumhorn could be a good fit for such an event:
The seemingly extensive use of horns also makes us wonder whether, at some point we will hear the famed Horn of Helm resounding through the Deeping Valley.
Gimli blows the Horn of Helm in PJ’s The Two Towers. Watch here.
Helm had a great horn, and soon it was marked that before he sallied forth he would blow a blast upon it that echoed in the Deep; and then so great a fear fell on his enemies that instead of gathering to take him or kill him they fled away down the Coomb.
The Lord of the Rings. Appendix A: The House of Eorl.
Gallagher’s Instagram posts indicate that he spent some time in Wellington finalising the musical score at Stroma FilmWorks and has been working with noted sound producer and mixer Pin3hot who was previously Supervising Music Editor for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
In a perhaps-weird coincidence, Pin3hot’s credits also include Ultraman. Ultraman, of course, was overseen by The War of the Rohirrim director Kenji Kamiyama (alongside Shinji Aramaki), and produced by Sola Entertainment — Joseph Chou’s company that happens to be handling production and animation for The War of the Rohirrim.
As near as we can tell scoring seems to have been finalised on or around February 26.
A few days later, on March 2, Gallagher posted another snippet of score labelled “Helm Hammerhand Still Stands” with a simple message: “What a week!”.
Lasswen, on TORn’s Discord server, offered some analysis, observing that:
This time all the instruments were concealed.
Although there is no tempo or clefs, the bottom stave changes to bass clef, suggesting the others are in all treble, and that there are fewer bass instruments present than in Business.
Since the five visible staves are grouped together (by the bar lines extending down across them) what we can see there is probably woodwinds (unless there are no woodwinds and these are treble brass such as trumpets and french horns).
There might still be crumhorns, just maybe not the bass ones as in Business.
Business had seven woodwinds, with a lot of bass ones, so this is likely a very different piece.
There is only one visible note at the start, though you can see that the instrument on the second staff is also playing; and it’s a lower note than in the second bar (from the curve of the slur line), but difficult to guess precisely what it would be.
The dynamic markings indicate it being quiet, at least at the start, but with some swell of sound and then a fade-away.
Like with Business, Lasswen also dropped this piece into a music editor, this time using piano as a ‘neutral’ instrument, to create two versions —the first assuming all those instruments start in treble clef, and the second with the bottom-most instrument starting in alto clef (that would mean the sound is not at all discordant for the second bar).
HELM HAMMERHAND TREBLE.MP3
HELM HAMMERHAND ALTO.MP3
But what is it about?
Well, the title alone Helm Hammerhand Still Stands feels like a strong nod to what is probably the most iconic scene of the short Helm tale in Appendix A, when the Dunlending have Helm and his retainers trapped in the fortress that would later bear his name.
We think the much higher numbering (M38) also supports that it’s from somewhere far later in the film than we believe Business will be.
One night men heard the horn blowing, but Helm did not return. In the morning there came a sun-gleam, the first for long days, and they saw a white figure standing still on the Dike, alone, for none of the Dunlendings dared come near. There stood Helm, dead as a stone, but his knees were unbent.
The Lord of the Rings. Appendix A: The House of Eorl.
Coincidentally (or not), it’s also one of only three scenes for which Warner Bros. has already revealed initial concept art.
Concept Art for The War of the Rohirrim.
In a bit of a wrap post, Gallagher revealed that in the first week they recorded approximately 82 minutes of wind and string instruments.
Kenji Kamiyama and Joseph Chou also happened to drop by and check things out.
At this point, the soundtracking relocated to London to record other instruments — particularly brass and percussion — in London’s Angel Studios and at Air Edel.
Should be able to catch up on sleep the next 24 hours of travel – when you live in London, New Zealand really is the other side of the planet. Looking forward to @stephengallaghermusic arriving this weekend for our next batch of sessions. You didn’t think it was only strings and winds did you?!
On his Instagram, Pin3hot referred to it specifically as an Odaiko (listen to one here). A little research is intriguing:
The odaiko was once used as a battle signal, and now features in Kabuki theater (a popular form of theater that has evolved from 17th-century aristocratic theater), Zen Buddhist ritual, and traditional dances.
At the beginning of May, Gallagher was back in Wellington for even more recording working with conductor Hamish McKeich (principal conductor in residence for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra).
This most recent, and perhaps last, batch of recording seems to have involved choral singing. And weeping. Whatever could that be about? A funeral, perhaps? Time will tell.
It’s Friday 17 May 2024 – and a seismic shift in The Lord of the Rings adaptations has been felt around the world. Here’s all the news you may have missed:
Rings of Power S2 gets a trailer, a date, and a BTS video
Prime Video unveiled season 2 of The Rings of Power at their UPFRONTS, an advertising industry event designed to lure more advertisers to buying commercials during shows. Prime also updated the show’s social media handles from LOTRonPrime to @TheRingsOfPower and released a 3 minute Behind-the-scenes look at S2.
Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuts Thursday August 29, 2024 with a 3-episode premiere, then settles into weekly episodes for the remaining 5 weeks.
LEGO Barad-Dur tower date and price
The 5,471 piece set is available June 1 for $459.99.
We see you. You can't hide your passion for the new Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr™ set ☄️ pic.twitter.com/wx7ANVApcS
The first movie in the new WB LOTR license is The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Andy Serkis, who also will play the character again. Produced by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, with a screenplay by The War of the Rohirrim writers Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Read more about how they landed on this particular story in the Legendarium.
In a technical slip up, the automated YouTube and WB copyright system temporarily took down the 15-year-old fan film The Hunt for Gollum, which was back up within hours and is still free to watch.
Rohirrim preview in June while scoring continues remotely
Exec Producer Jason Demarco announced a “big chunk of the film” will be screened at Annecy animation festival in June, and shared a new logo for the movie.
Composer Stephen Gallagher continues to post updates on the scoring of the new Anime LOTR movie coming this December.
Middle-earth Enterprises owner Embracer Freemode shared an in-depth interview with CEO Lee Guinchard, where he lays out the strategy going forward to build The Lord of the Rings into a premium, high quality brand that is collaborative and fan-first.
LOTR Executive Producer Mark Ordesky has teamed up with the Blair Witch creators to launch a new fantasy project: an omni-channel disc-world universe with a dice game on Kickstarter.
Black Milk Clothing has finally restocked its official LOTR apparel, including this Arwen dress.
Christopher Lee feature-length documentary, featuring a brand new interview with Peter Jackson, enters its final Blu-ray pre-order days with a Dracula inspired premium box set.
Footage of the highly anticipation LOTR anime film debuts at Annecy, for a second year in a row. Special guests include Andy Serkis, Philippa Boyens, Kenji Kamiyama, Joseph Chou and Jason DeMarco.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim preview will take place 12 June 2024 at 4pm local time. Link to the event page. But first: a new logo treatment for the movie!
Executive Producer from WB Feature Animation, Jason DeMarco, says it’s more than a trailer – a “nice big chunk of the movie.”
If you’re at Annecy this year, come see our War of the Rohirrim panel! Mr ANDY SERKIS will hold a convo between Kenji Kamiyama and Philippa Boyens (and myself), and we will be showing a nice big chunk of the film. CANNOT WAIT! See you there. https://t.co/UFbL6IZATj
— NUNEKIN KAMUI DEMARCO (@Clarknova1) May 13, 2024
Warner Bros. Feature Animation sends word of their plans for the big French animation industry event.
WARNER BROS. ANIMATION, CARTOON NETWORK STUDIOS, HANNA-BARBERA STUDIOS EUROPE ANNOUNCE PROGRAMMING SLATE FOR ANNECY INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL
Andy Serkis to Host Filmmaker Conversation and Extended First Lookof the Highly Anticipated New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation’s
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Inside Look at the Upcoming DC Studios/Max Original Animated SeriesCreature Commandos
World-Premiere Screening of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, First Look at The Amazing World of Gumball, Sneak Peeks, and More!
Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), Cartoon Network Studios (CNS), and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe (HBSE) will return to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival with a showstopping slate of animated content showcasing the studio’s rich history, diverse styles, and world-class artistry.
Programming highlights include first looks at the highly anticipated New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation’s original anime feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the upcoming DC Studios/Max Original Creature Commandos, The Amazing World of Gumball, and the World Premiere of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.
Full Annecy programming slate
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – Filmmaker Conversation and Exclusive Extended Look with Special Guest Andy Serkis
Oscar winner Philippa Boyens (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies), award-winning filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama (the Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series) and producer Joseph Chou (Blade Runner: Black Lotus TV series) return to Annecy to unveil the first footage from the highly anticipated original anime feature, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. In a special appearance, Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings trilogies) will join filmmakers as they reflect on their creative journey in translating the cinematic wonder of Middle-earth through the visually sweeping lens and artistry of anime.
From New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim explores and expands the untold story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep, delving into the life and bloodsoaked times of one of Middle-earth’s most legendary figures; the mighty King of Rohan – Helm Hammerhand.
Animation work is currently underway at Sola Entertainment. The film will be distributed theatrically worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 13, 2024.
Creature Commandos – Making of Session
From Executive Producer and writer James Gunn, Creature Commandos is the upcoming Max Original animated event series, based on DC characters and produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation which follows Amanda Waller as she forms a black ops team out of monstrous prisoners. Prepare for an in-depth look from Rick Morales (supervising producer) and Balak Yves (supervising director) into the artistry and creative processes behind this highly anticipated series kicking off a new era of storytelling in the DC Universe.
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – World Premiere Screening
That’s not all folks! Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, one of the greatest comedic duos in history, are making their hilarious return to the big screen in the sci-fi comedy adventure, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.
From Warner Bros. Animation, director Pete Browngardt, and the creative team behind the award-winning Looney Tunes Cartoons, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Moviestars Porky Pig and Daffy Duck as unlikely heroes and Earth’s only hope when facing the threat of alien invasion. The movie unfolds a rich Porky & Daffy story that fans have never seen before: In this buddy-comedy of epic proportions, our heroes race to save the world, delivering all the laugh-out-loud gags and vibrant visuals that have made the Looney Tunes so iconic, but on a scope and scale yet to be experienced.
The Amazing World of Gumball – Making of Session
More Gumball! The comedic misadventures of Gumball, Darwin and the quirky residents of Elmore continue in The Amazing World of Gumball (wt). Join Ben Bocquelet (Executive Producer), Matthew Layzell (Executive Producer), Emma Fernando (Series Producer), Xav Clarke (Composer), Sarah Fell (SVP, Series, Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe) for an inside look at the long-awaited return of these beloved characters.
Spotlight on Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe – Studio Focus
Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe showcase their high-profile slate of current and upcoming film and series projects. Learn how these three storied studios aim to be the broadest purveyor of animation in the world, producing content that touches every audience group and every platform. Grab industry insights, exciting news, and exclusive first looks from the always original Cartoon Network Studios, the iconic characters of Warner Bros. Animation, and the whimsical world of Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.
Adult Animation at Warner Bros. Discovery – Studio Focus
Adult Swim, Max, and Warner Bros. Animation spotlights their strategy and efforts in the booming adult animation space. Michael Ouweleen (President, Adult Swim), Suzanna Makkos (Head of Adult Animation, Adult Swim), and Peter Girardi (Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Warner Bros. Animation) preview current and upcoming projects and share their team’s strategies to ensure Warner Bros. Discovery remains the destination for adult animation.
100 Years of Shorts – Annecy Classics Screening
A curated program celebrating the proud legacy of short form at Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera, and Cartoon Network Studios featuring animated shorts from Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, Chuck Jones, Genndy Tartakovsky, and more!
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About Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. WBA’s current series include Batman: Caped Crusader, Bat-Family, Batwheels, Bugs Bunny Builders, Creature Commandos, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Harley Quinn, Jellystone!, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah!, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Merry Little Batman, My Adventures with Superman, Teen Titans Go!, Tiny Toons Looniversity, and Velma. The studio is currently in production on two feature films – The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie and the upcoming original anime feature film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, with New Line Cinema. WBA’s full-length theatrical film Teen Titans GO! to the Movies was released in summer 2018. As home to the iconic animated characters from the DC, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films — including the DC Universe Movies — for DVD, Blu-ray® and digital media. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards®, 40 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, a BAFTA Children’s Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 21 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).
About Cartoon Network Studios
Established in 2000, Cartoon Network Studios (CNS) is a global animation and interactive studio recognized for its innovative approaches to IP development and world-building. Fostering a creator-driven environment, CNS is home to hundreds of visual artists who have been a part of the studio’s many critically acclaimed and groundbreaking animated series, including Adventure Time, Craig of the Creek, Steven Universe, Regular Show, The Powerpuff Girls, and We Bare Bears. CNS has also produced notable Adult Swim hits such as Genndy Tartakovky’s Primal, Samurai Jack, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. CNS has been honored with multiple awards and accolades, including Emmy®, Peabody, GLAAD and Annie Awards. Internationally, the studio also garnered the BAFTA Children’s Award, Italy’s prestigious Pulcinella Award and Annecy Festival’s Cristal Award.
About Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe
Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe is Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship animation studio within EMEA. Based in London, the studio is home to quality local productions distributed worldwide, including The Amazing World of Gumball, The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe, and Elliott from Earth. Its content has been honored with BAFTA, Emmy, Emile, Annie, Prix Jeunesse, Rockie and Annecy awards
Discussion is fired up for a teaser trailer
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TheOneRing.net will kick off the 2024 Convention season at Wondercon in Anaheim, running from March 29-31, 2024. Our panel, ‘Dispatches from Middle-earth: The War of the Rohirrim’ will be on Easter Sunday at 12:15 pm in room North 200A. You can find our panel description at: https://sched.co/1aznT or if you don’t have tickets yet, you can find those at https://www.comic-con.org/wc/
We have much to talk about with the recent announcement of a new book of Tolkien’s poems and the interviews with the creators of The War of the Rohirrim. We will miss the actual ‘Tolkien Reading Day’ on March 25, but all is not lost, March is officially dubbed National Reading Month to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Seuss. All that is to say ‘expect a little bit of Tolkien’s literature to make an appearance’.
We also would like to invite any Middle-earth-themed cosplayers to attend our panel and the subsequent photo shoot out by the fountain in front of the convention center. If you are unable to attend the panel but think you can make the photo shoot afterwards, it will take place 45 minutes after the end of the panel, or approximately at 2pm.
