LOTR: The War Of The Rohirrim Attempts To Channel Peter Jackson's Original Magic

Every Middle-earth adaptation finds its genesis in one place: J.R.R. Tolkien's writings. It is the original creation. It's the aboriginal text. It's from which all Middle-earth adaptations spring. 

Despite Tolkien's clear hegemony over his own writings, the clout that Peter Jackson has accumulated over the years as a Middle-earth creator nearly rivals Tolkien himself. In the minds of countless casual viewers, Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is their definitive Middle-earth experience. They believe Aragorn has a beard, Hobbits are relatively thin, and Denethor is a lunatic — all of which are distinct deviations from Tolkien's story.

Jackson's changes to the source material may be legion, but his overall ability to capture the essence of Tolkien's work is indisputable. He has created a gold standard for cinematic adaptations of the author's world.

Some creators have deliberately chosen not to align with this standard. J.A. Bayona, for example, clarified that they didn't use Jackson's films for inspiration when he directed the first two episodes of "The Rings of Power." Instead, they turned to the original books, paintings, and other movies (including Tarkovsky) for ideas.

However, one on-screen adaptation arriving in 2024 has gone in the opposite direction. Warner Bros.'s upcoming film "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" takes place a few centuries before Jackson's films and, according to early reports, it already feels a lot like Jackson's Middle-earth. SlashFilm was present at an exclusive, closed-door sneak peek of the highly anticipated movie at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France in mid-June. The publication went so far as to straight-up declare, "Indeed, this film feels to be cut from the same cloth as the original 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy."

The cinematic and televised rights to create and distribute Middle-earth content are confusing at best. However, one thing is certain. "The War of the Rohirrim" is coming from the same studio (Warner Bros.) that has been heavily involved in the rights to Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" trilogies from day one. So the movie has had a close connection to the originals from the get-go. As news has leaked out of Annecy about the first glimpse of what is to come, it's becoming abundantly clear that the project is cashing in on its relational status to Jackson's films in multiple ways.

The most obvious of these is one cast member, in particular. A year before the Annecy reveal, news broke that Miranda Otto would be reprising her role as Éowyn. The Aussie actress was returning to play an older version of her character who would function as the film's narrator as she recounts one of the most epic moments in her people's history. According to SlashFilm, she gets right in on the action, too. The outlet reports, "In the first clip shown, we see the opening of the film, which includes a classic Middle-earth narration, this time by Miranda Otto's Éowyn."

The connections go much deeper than one returning actress, too. The publication adds that the designs by John Howe and WETA Workshop artists are clearly reminiscent of past Middle-earth iterations. Apparently, they even went back and found old models from WETA's archives to inspire their new creations.

The reports coming out of Annecy also connected "The War of the Rohirrim" to Jackson's "The Hobbit" films via Stephen Gallagher. The artist worked in the music department on the latter trilogy and is reported to be composing the music for Warner Bros.'s new animated Middle-earth film. "There are lots of horns and ominous choirs, and the main Rohan theme plays to rousing effect," said SlashFilm as it heartily confirmed that Gallagher has the chops to channel Howard Shore's past Oscar-winning musical Middle-earth triumphs into the animation realm.

Let's not forget Alan Lee. The illustrious illustrator wields a venerable reputation as one of the foremost Middle-earth artists in existence. His interpretation of Middle-earth has made its way into Tolkien's books, pictures, and, yes, film adaptations, too. Lee is helping guide the look of the world's first Japanese anime iteration of Middle-earth, and the concept art shown at Annecy (not officially attributed to Lee, for the record) has a similar feel to what audiences are used to seeing. From Edoras, the capital of Rohan, to the lofty tower of the Hornburg at Helm's Deep to Saruman's soon-to-be fortress of Isengard, the concept art shown thus far is very Jackson-esque.

Behind these connected dots is one of the primary movers and shakers producing the "War of the Rohirrim." Philippa Boyens has a lofty Middle-earth pedigree that extends through all six of Jackson's films. Miranda Otto already clarified that it was Boyens who called her and recruited her to get back in the saddle as Éowyn. Knowing that there is a Jacksonian veteran of her caliber on set means we can expect plenty of further callbacks and connections to the original films coming down the pike.