As New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. prepare for the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum in 2027, the production company and studio would be wise to forget about the epic action fantasy franchise’s previous installment. Frankly, so would fans. After ascending to the top of the mountain as one of the most critically adored and financially successful movie franchises of all time, a silly and completely unnecessary animated prequel arrived and instantly watered down J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythical lore.
Released to subpar reviews and a $10 million box office deficit, it’s a real wonder who The Lord of the Rings: The War for the Rohirrim was made for. The animated prequel, which is set centuries before the events of Tolkien’s text, doesn’t advance the world-building mythos or add much to what fans have already experienced in Peter Jackson’s award-winning live-action trilogy. Even worse, the movie was rushed into production over a legal rights issue, and the uninspired results show.
‘The War of the Rohirrim’ Misses the Mark Time and Again
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045), The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was released theatrically on December 3, 2024. Set 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s landmark LotR and Hobbit trilogies, the animated prequel recounts the tale of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), the proud King of Rohan. The Dunlendings approach Helm and ask for his daughter Hera’s (Gaia Wise) hand in marriage, which leads to a hot-tempered refusal that sparks an all-out war. Helm slays the father of Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), a Dunlending who leads the charge of revenge against Helm and his people.
Despite a few memorable action spectacles, The War of the Rohirrim consistently fails to live up to the Lord of the Rings‘ high standards of mythological world-building, compelling character development, epic size and scale, and award-winning directorial acumen. Nothing about it feels like an organically inspired presage to Peter Jackson’s groundbreaking live-action trilogy. A middling affair across the board that feels rushed and convoluted, there’s no real surprise that Rohirrim drew poor reviews.
Rohirrim holds a 49% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 54 Metascore. Non-critics were nearly as unimpressed. The film has a 6.3 IMDb rating and 5.2 user score on Metacritic. RT’s consensus opinion reads:
“This animated deep cut from The Lord of the Rings mythos has plenty of spectacle, but its clichéd characters and uneven animation resemble middle-of-the-road more than they do Middle-earth.”
Missing the critical bullseye is just one area where Rohirrim fell woefully short. For a monumentally lucrative movie franchise that grossed nearly $6 billion over the past 20 years, Rohirrim‘s box office failures are an even bigger slap in the face. The film grossed a measly $20.7 million (including just $9 million domestically) against a $30 million budget (via Box Office Mojo), which was a losing effort for New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Perhaps the studio and production company shouldn’t have rushed the film into production over a licensing issue.
‘The War of the Rohirrim’ Was Rushed Into Production Over Legal Rights
The most recurring criticism of Rohirrim is that it feels rushed, slapped together at the last minute, and instantly forgettable. This is almost certainly a direct result of New Line fast-tracking the production in 2021 to avoid losing the legal rights to Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings novels and the ability to adapt them into films. Rather than allowing the rights to lapse and letting Peter Jackson’s legacy speak for itself, New Line and Warner Bros. felt the need to squeeze every last drop of moneymaking potential out of the lucrative franchise, falling grossly short in the process.
Making Rohirrim look even worse, Amazon’s pricey TV series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power completed its acclaimed second season in October 2024, two months before Rohirrim was released. The live-action series is a much more complete and compelling prequel, dating at least 1,000 years before the events of Jackson’s original trilogy. The Rings of Power goes much deeper in the exploration of Tolkien’s text than Rohirrim, expanding on Galadriel’s (Morfydd Clark) untold backstory, the rise of Sauron, and the fall of Numenor.
Perhaps the grandest irony is that Peter Jackson served as an executive producer on Rohirrim but remains completely uninvolved with The Rings of Power. In rushing the slapdash anime prequel before losing the film rights, Jackson had to sit back and watch the much better TV adaptation flourish without him, harming his legacy. Fortunately, Jackson has a chance to rebound with The Hunt for Gollum, which he is producing with his pal, Andy Serkis, directing.
Can ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Rebound with ‘The Hunt For Gollum’?
One of the surest ways to overcome Rohirrim‘s misgivings and protect the Lord of the Rings legacy is for The Hunt for Gollum to return the franchise to glory. Slated for a Christmas 2027 theatrical release, The Hunt for Gollum is produced by Peter Jackson, written by his longtime screenwriting partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and directed by franchise mainstay Andy Serkis (Gollum). Elijah Wood has confirmed his return as Frodo Baggins, and Sir Ian McKellen will be playing Gandalf. Serkis is slated to reprise his role of Gollum, and Kate Winslet has been rumored to play a role in the upcoming live-action epic.
Although the franchise has won 17 Oscars and grossed nearly $6 billion in the past 25 years, a lot is riding on the success of The Hunt for Gollum. A triumphant return could instantly deodorize the rank stench swirling around Rohirrim. It could also potentially best The Rings of Power and remind fans that Peter Jackson is the definitive creative force behind the LoTR franchise, despite Amazon acquiring the TV rights and hiring J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to run the show. Payne and McKay had zero affiliation with the LoTR franchise before developing The Rings of Power. So, it’s time for Jackson to reclaim his groundbreaking territory and bring the franchise back to the Undying Lands.
Whether or not The Hunt for Gollum restores the reputational luster Jackson has built with The Lord of the Rings over the past quarter-century, The War of the Rohirrim will likely always remain a creative misstep motivated by the wrong reasons.