It’s something special. Middle-earth. An entire mythos in its own right created byJ.R.R. Tolkien, the work has inspired big screen projects over the decades, and likely even more in the near future.The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimis the first big screen project to emerge from that world in the past decade. An animated feature, the movie will mark a return to Middle-earth and the world ofThe Lord of the Rings, as we explore the tale of a beloved franchise character inHelm Hammerhand. ScreenwriterPhilippa Boyens, who worked onThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy andThe Hobbitfilms, is credited as producer and story consultant on the upcoming anime film. Boyens, has recently offered some insight on what the future of the franchise looks like.
BeyondThe War of the Rohirrim,The Lord of the Ringsfranchise has added other strings to its storytelling bow in recent years. There’s the Prime Video series,The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, that seems to be picking up steam after an impressive second season. And let’s not forget the upcoming live-action film.Hunt for Gollum, which brings back the complex character of Gollum/Sméagol. Speaking in a recent interview withThe Playlist, Boyens opened up about the possibility of even more animated films, saying:
“There’s a lot of [possibilities], when you look at it, there’s alotof things in there, actually. One of the things this [‘War Of The Rohirrim’] story has shown us is that a stand-alone story works really successfully within the world of Middle-earth and I would genuinely—because I’ve fallen in love with the form—love to see another anime. But that depends on the audiences out there, your audience, fans of not only the original trilogy, but that vast anime audience. I’m really interested to see what they think.”
Another ‘Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy - Yes Please
Animation representsrelatively unchartered watersfor the franchise. However, trilogies is an areaLord of the Ringshas a fair bit of experience in. To that point, Boyens reveals that the creative minds that drive the franchise, are looking at a potential new epic film trilogy, as well as stand-alone films, adding:
“So we’re in the audiences hands. f there’s an appetite for it, we’ve got more stories. There’s atonof stories left to be told there and some really, really interesting ones. But my preference would be, after ‘Hunt For Gollum,’ would be to look at those stand-alone stories. And then if we got really ambitious—there are some epic, particular stories that could translate into that more traditional epic trilogy format that was the original ‘Lord Of The Rings,’ the war of the rings story.”
If these new stories were properly crafted and told, Tolkien seems to win new hearts with every passing decade, which suggests there will be an audience for it.The Hunt for Gollumis already a testament to that. The upcoming film will seeAndy Serkisreturn to his iconic role as Gollum while also serving as director. Stars from the originalPeter Jacksontrilogy, including the likes of Gandalf (Ian McKellen) andViggo Mortensen’s Aragorn have all voiced an interest in returning. Boyens, has revealed thatthe offer to portray Isildur’s heir, has been once more presented to Mortensen. “Honestly, that’s entirely going to be up to Viggo,” the screenwriter said. “We’ve all spoken to him—Andy [Serkis], Peter [Jackson], myself—and I cannot imagine anyone else playing Aragorn. But it will completely depend on whether the script speaks to him.”
The Lord of the Riungstrilogy is streaming now on Max.The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrimwill march its way to theaters on June 26, 2025. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates onThe Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
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