First images of Lord Of The Rings anime at French fest
ANNECY, FRANCE Critics got a sneak preview of an anime prequel to The Lord Of The Rings at one of the world’s top animation festivals in France.
The War Of The Rohirrim film, due for release in April 2024, is set 250 years before the events of the main trilogy of books by English writer J.R.R. Tolkien.
It is being directed by Japanese anime director Kenji Kamiyama, who worked on the landmark manga film Akira in 1988.
Though based on elements of backstory in the appendices of the original books, its central character Princess Hera was never named by Tolkien.
An opening scene shown at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in south-eastern France on Tuesday featured Hera riding across a rocky region and being approached by a giant eagle.
Her father, king of Rohan, is voiced by Scottish actor Brian Cox, a global icon after playing the patriarch in the hit series Succession (2018 to 2023).
Executive producer Philippa Boyens admitted there was not much to go on in the appendices, but that they found “three significant paragraphs” to use as the basis for the story.
“We didn’t want to turn her into some kind of warrior princess,” Ms Boyens said of the lead character. “This is not just about war, it’s about the wreckage of war – that suits anime so brilliantly.”
She co-wrote the film trilogies of The Lord Of The Rings (2001 to 2003) and The Hobbit (2012 to 2014) with New Zealand director Peter Jackson, but said she felt “too old” for an anime and passed the baton to her daughter, Phoebe Gittins.
With media companies milking familiar brands for a seemingly endless round of prequels, sequels, reboots and spin-offs, Tolkien’s vast universe has been a treasure trove.
Amazon has pumped more than a billion dollars into making a TV series, and is working on a video game.
Warner Bros announced in February that it is planning “multiple” new films around the beloved books. - AFP
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