Warner Bros. has revealed the first stills from its upcoming animated film The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of Rothschild and confirmed its running time.
There are two things everyone knows about The Lord of the Rings: one is that Viggo Mortensen broke his toe and the scream in the movie was his real reaction; the other is that The Lord of the Rings movie is very, very long. Entertainment WeeklyWarner Bros. Animation has debuted the trailer for the animated film, which tells the prequel story of Helm Hammerhand, the ancient king of Rohan, after whom Helm’s Deep is named. The film is also quite long, as The Hollywood Reporter reports that although it was initially expected to run 90 minutes, it is now two and a half hours long.
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Just to be clear, when I say animation, I should specify that this is an anime. The film is directed by Kenji Kamiyama, best known for his work on Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Ghost in the Shell: Independent Complex, and The Wolf Brigade (which happens to be a big inspiration for the upcoming Saw Man movie). Directing alongside Kamiyama is Philippa Boyens, who worked with Peter Jackson on the screenplay for the original Lord of the Rings movies and is serving as a producer on this animated prequel.
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“When they suggested anime, my brain started going crazy,” Boyens told Entertainment Weekly. “I immediately thought about telling this story. They pitched me a few different stories, but I was very bossy and said, ‘No, I know what this needs to be.’ I immediately felt it would lend itself to animation because it’s based on characters and has its own worldview. It embodies something about Japanese storytelling.”
Jackson also serves as an executive producer on the film, and while Gollum himself, Andy Serkis, isn’t involved at all, The Hollywood Reporter reports that he recently watched the film and said “fans are going to go crazy for it.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of Rothschild is set to hit theaters on December 13 later this year, and it’s not the only film in the series to look forward to, a Gollum-centric project is also in the works.
