THE LORD OF THE RINGS_ The War of the Rohirrim Trailer (2024) Miranda Otto, Brian Cox Movie

THE LORD OF THE RINGS_ The War of the Rohirrim Trailer (2024) Miranda Otto, Brian Cox Movie

Show more

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: The War of the Rohirrim Trailer (2024) Miranda Otto, Brian Cox Animated Movie
© 2024 - Warner Bros Pictures
More Middle-earth action awaits: Warner Bros. has released the trailer for the anime feature film “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” set to be released on Dec. 13.

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, “The War of the Rohirrim” takes place 261 years before the epic events of “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Featuring Helm Hammerhand as the protagonist, the film is based on a story by J.R.R. Tolkien included in the appendices of “The Lord of the Rings.”

Brian Cox voices the iconic King of Rohan, while Miranda Otto, who starred in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, returns to lend her voice to her original character Eowyn. In the new animated film, the king must defend his land against an army of Dunlendings, in an origin story revealing how the stronghold Helm’s Deep got its name.

Related Stories
Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice in the film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" wearing a crown
VIP+
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Success Doesn’t Downplay Risky Reboots Coming to Theaters
Actor and producer Alec Baldwin sits in First District Court during the second day of testimony in the trial against him, in Santa Fe, N.M. Thursday, July 11, 2024. Baldwin is on trial for the charge of involuntary manslaughter related to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the movie Rust in 2021.
Alec Baldwin Prosecutor Asks Judge to Revive 'Rust' Case, Hints at Appeal
Additional cast members include Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Laurence Ubong Williams and Shaune Dooley.

Popular on Variety
00:00

01:47

With a story by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, the script is penned by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Warner Bros. Animation, New Line Cinema and Sola Entertainment are the studios behind the film, with Warner Bros. distributing. Joseph Chou of Sola Entertainment produces. Phillippa Boyens, who co-wrote Jackson’s film trilogy, serves as an executive producer. The creative team also includes original “LOTR” trilogy contributors Richard Taylor, Alan Lee and Tolkien illustrator John Howe.

Kamiyama is known for directing the series “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.”

Stories from Tolkien’s Middle Earth continue to receive onscreen adaptations for old and new audiences. Season 2 of Prime Video’s series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is currently in development, though it is entirely separate from the animated feature.

Watch the trailer for “The War of the Rohirrim” below.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an upcoming anime fantasy film directed by Kenji Kamiyama from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou, based on characters created by J. R. R. Tolkien. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Sola Entertainment in association with WingNut Films, it stars Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto, Laurence Ubong Williams, and Shaun Dooley. The War of the Rohirrim is set 183 years before Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and tells the story of Helm Hammerhand (Cox), a legendary king of Rohan, and his family as they defend their kingdom against an army of Dunlendings.

The film was announced in June 2021 and development was fast-tracked to prevent New Line Cinema from losing the film adaptation rights for Tolkien's novels. Kamiyama was involved by then, as were producer Philippa Boyens—who co-wrote Jackson's film trilogy—and writers Addiss and Matthews. Gittins and Papageorgiou re-wrote the script, which is based on details in the appendices of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings covering the history of Rohan's rulers. They chose to focus on Helm's unnamed daughter, whom they called Hèra for the film. Sola Entertainment provided the traditional 2D animation, taking visual inspiration from Jackson's films. The main cast was revealed in June 2022, including Wise as Hèra and Otto reprising her role as Éowyn from the film trilogy. Jackson and his film trilogy co-writer Fran Walsh were being credited as executive producers by June 2024.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on December 13, 2024, by New Line Cinema.

Premise
Set 183 years before the events of the Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, The War of the Rohirrim tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, a legendary king of Rohan, and his family as they defend their kingdom against an army of Dunlendings.[1][2] Helm goes on to be the namesake for the stronghold Helm's Deep.[1]

Voice cast
Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand:
The hot-tempered king of Rohan who attempts to protect his people.[1][3] Director Kenji Kamiyama was intrigued by the story of Helm's lineage ending, seeing it as a lesson about responsibility and power.[4]
Gaia Wise as Hèra:
The tomboy-ish daughter of Helm who helps defend their people.[1][2] Wise felt the character was closer to the female heroes from Hayao Miyazaki's anime films such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) than Éowyn and Arwen, the female heroes in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. While those characters are "fully formed women", Wise said Hèra was rebellious and complicated.[4]
Luke Pasqualino as Wulf:
The ruthless leader of the Dunlendings who seeks revenge against Rohan for the death of his father.[1] Unlike previous antagonists in the franchise, Wulf is just a human rather than an evil wizard or dark lord. Producer Philippa Boyens felt this made him more interesting and more dangerous, and said the character was relevant to "a lot of the crises that we're facing today".[4]
Miranda Otto as Éowyn: A future shieldmaiden of Rohan who narrates the film[1]
Laurence Ubong Williams as Fréaláf Hildeson: Helm's nephew and successor to the throne of Rohan[5]
Shaun Dooley as Freca: Wulf's father, a Dunlending lord with Rohirric blood who attempts to claim the throne[2][5]
Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski have been cast in undisclosed roles.[1] The character Saruman appears in the film.[6]

Production
Development

Producer Philippa Boyens, who previously co-wrote the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, at the Annecy Film Festival in June 2023 where she promoted the film
In June 2021, during 20th anniversary celebrations for the beginning of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy,[7] film studio New Line Cinema announced that it was fast-tracking development of an anime prequel film with Warner Bros. Animation.[8] This was intended to prevent New Line from losing the film adaptation rights for J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit novels.[9] The new film, titled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, was being directed by Kenji Kamiyama and produced by Joseph Chou, both returning from Warner Bros.' anime television series Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021–22).[7] It is connected to the film trilogy's continuity,[7] and co-writer Philippa Boyens returned from those films as a consultant and producer.[8][10] She said an animated expansion of the franchise had been discussed for years before they settled on making an anime film.[2] Jason DeMarco, Warner Bros.' senior vice president of anime, was also producing the film.[10] Jackson and the film trilogy's other co-writer, Fran Walsh, were not officially involved in the new film,[7] but Boyens used them as a sounding board for ideas,[3] and they were being credited as executive producers by June 2024. Other executive producers include Sam Register, Carolyn Blackwood, and Toby Emmerich.[11]

Writing
Several story ideas were suggested for the first anime film based on Tolkien's novels, but Boyens insisted that they focus on the kingdom of Rohan as she felt that culture was best suited for the medium and would be familiar to viewers of Jackson's films.[12] The War of the Rohirrim is set 183 years before those films and tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, a king of Rohan.[7] Tolkien mentions his story in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, specifically the "House of Eorl" section in Appendix A which details the history of Rohan's rulers. The producers chose to tell this story because its setting earlier in the timeline avoids the villain Sauron and the influence of his One Ring,[2] and because they felt the intensity of the conflict and the way it escalates made it the right choice for a film adaptation.[12] Boyens said it allowed them to tell a tragic story about the "wreckage of war", and examine ideas of honor, revenge, family, and resilience.[2][3][12]

Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews were hired to write the initial screenplay.[7] During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, Boyens asked her daughter Phoebe Gittins and Gittins's writing partner Arty Papageorgiou to re-write the script. Boyens referred to them as the "next generation" and felt it was important for new, young voices to join the franchise. The pair, who were working on another project at the time, were hesitant to join the film because of the reverence for the source material and previous films held by themselves and other fans. They were convinced to join based on the other people working on the project, including many who worked on Jackson's films. This allowed them to focus on the storytelling and bringing the material closer to the styles of anime, Japanese cinema, and animation in general. Kamiyama had key details that he wanted to include that did not fit within the initial script, including how exactly to lay siege to a citadel.[12] He worked with Gittins and Papageorgiou to put a focus on the darker, more claustrophobic, and horrific elements of the war rather than just large-scale battles. The fact that the Dunlendings who invade Rohan do so based on historical grievances was an element that particularly resonated with the director.[3]

The inclusion of giant elephant-like mûmakil in concept art for the film led to concern from some fans that the film was inserting the armies of Harad into the story when Tolkien did not mention their involvement. Boyens acknowledged that the appendices do not explicitly mention forces from Harad in this story, but felt their involvement could be inferred since Tolkien mentions enemies of Gondor arriving to aid the Dunlendings and elsewhere in the appendices he includes Harad as one of the enemies of Gondor in this time period. The writers also interpreted Tolkien's description of the Dunlending leader, Freca, as being wealthy enough to afford mercenaries from places like Harad as well as the Corsairs of Umbar, another enemy of Gondor.[3][13] As development of the script progressed, the writers decided to introduce a narrator who would be telling the film's story as part of an oral tradition. The character Éowyn from the main events of The Lord of the Rings was chosen. Boyens said having a familiar voice in the film helped the writers with their work. She added that the narration gives context for fans of the previous films who are unfamiliar with Tolkien's wider Middle-earth history, and she felt that framing the story as an oral tradition was fitting because it was being constructed based on fragments and references in the source material.[3]

Tolkien gave details on the deaths of Helm and his sons, Haleth and Hama, but the fate of his unnamed daughter is left unclear.[3] The producers decided to expand on her role, making her the protagonist of the film.[2] The first name suggested for the character did not start with "H", but Boyens felt it should start with the same letter as Helm, Haleth, and Hama.[3] She asked Walsh for ideas and the latter suggested they name her after Hera Hilmar, the Icelandic actress who starred in their film Mortal Engines (2018).[12] For The War of the Rohirrim, the name is spelled "Hèra" based on Old English. It was not intended to be a reference to the goddess Hera of Ancient Greek religion.[3] The writers did not want to completely invent her characterization themselves, and Kamiyama suggested they take inspiration from the historical female leader Æthelflæd since she played a similar role to Hèra and Tolkien was himself inspired by such historical figures.[2][3] Though the character can fight and ride horses like the men of Rohan, the writers were not interested in depicting her as a "warrior princess" which they felt had become a common trope. Instead, they focused her character arc on the choices she makes and the choices that others make which impact her life.[12] They also took inspiration from Tolkien's other female characters, including Éowyn.[14] Another character that was expanded on for the film is Fréaláf Hildeson, Helm's nephew who eventually inherits the throne. Only Fréaláf's mother is known, creating the possibility that his father is not Rohirric and is instead from a neighboring land. Boyens felt going in this direction made Fréaláf's ascension to the throne feel unlikely to audiences, and helped differentiate him from the Lord of the Rings character Éomer who has a similar story.[12]

Casting
Casting for the film began by the time of its announcement in June 2021,[8] and details on the cast were expected to be revealed soon after February 2022.[15] That June, Brian Cox was revealed to be voicing Helm, with Gaia Wise voicing Hèra, and Miranda Otto reprising her role as Éowyn from Jackson's films.[1] Cox was previously part of the English voice cast for Black Lotus, and Boyens felt he was an appropriate choice for Helm based on his performance in a 1987 stage production of William Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus.[3] She also praised Wise for bringing a "fiery-ness" to her performance without making Hèra sound petulant.[3]

Also revealed to be cast in the film in June 2022 were Luke Pasqualino as Dunlending leader Wulf, Laurence Ubong Williams as Fréaláf Hildeson, Shaun Dooley as Wulf's father Freca, and Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski in undisclosed roles.[1][5]

Animation and design

Director Kenji Kamiyama at the Annecy Film Festival in June 2023 where he promoted the film
Richard Taylor, the creative director of special effects company Wētā Workshop, and illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe all returned from Jackson's film trilogy to work on The War of the Rohirrim.[1][15] The film's visual style was described as being based on that of Jackson's films rather than the style of the previous animated Lord of the Rings films by Ralph Bakshi and Rankin/Bass.[2] However, the producers did not want to just make an animated version of Jackson's style and instead embraced anime, and Kamiyama's style specifically.[11] Boyens said they also took inspiration from the works of Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki, particularly their focus on small details.[12] Kamiyama wanted the characters and locations to look as realistic as possible while still being recognizable as anime. Locations in the film that were previously seen in the live-action films include the Rohan capital of Edoras, their stronghold at the Hornburg which becomes known as Helm's Deep, and the fortress of Isengard. Old models from Wētā's archives were used as inspiration for some designs.[2]

Sola Entertainment began work on the film's animation by the time of its announcement in June 2021.[8] A unique approach was used to create the film's traditional 2D animation: actors performed every scene of the film using motion capture, which was translated into 3D animation within Unreal Engine's real-time game engine; the 3D environment was used to determine the film's camera angles and movements, and this was translated into the final 2D animation. Kamiyama did not want to use rotoscoping to trace over the 3D scenes. Instead, he asked the artists to use the 3D version as reference when creating their traditional 2D drawings. This process created more fluid movements but maintained the feeling of hand-drawn animation. One of the biggest challenges for the animation team was the large number of horses in the film; horses are important in Rohan culture but they are also notoriously difficult to animate.[2] By June 2024, the film was two-and-a-half hours long after originally being envisioned as a 90 minute film.[16] More than 60 companies had been brought in to help finish the animation work.[11]

Music
Stephen Gallagher was revealed to be composing the score for the film in February 2023. Gallagher was the music editor on Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy, working closely with composer Howard Shore,[17] and his music for The War of the Rohirrim continues Shore's style. It also includes Shore's Rohan theme from the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[2] Recording for the score took place with an orchestra at Angel Recording Studios in March 2024.[18]

Marketing
A first look at the film's concept art, showing the influence of Jackson's films on its visuals, was revealed in February 2022.[15] Kamiyama, Boyens, Chou, and DeMarco discussed the film and showed unfinished footage at a panel during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2023. The footage received positive responses for its combination of Jackson's film influences and anime stylings;[19] John Hopewell of Variety felt fans of Jackson's films and fans of anime would both enjoy the film, and highlighted the brutal, bloody violence shown.[20] Rafael Motamayor at /Film said it was one of the most anticipated animated films of 2024.[2]

Jackson introduced, via video message, a panel for the film at the next Annecy Film Festival in June 2024. The panel was moderated by Andy Serkis, who portrays Gollum in the live-action films and had recently been announced as the director for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (2026). Kamiyama, Boyens, Chou, and DeMarco again discussed the project and showed 20 minutes of footage from the start of the film.[11][16] Motamayor praised the footage as "stunning" and said it felt like a "proper" prequel to Jackson's films. However, he felt the combination of 2D characters and 3D backgrounds was not as smooth as in the series Attack on Titan.[21] Kambole Campbell of Animation Magazine agreed, but attributed this to the animation being unfinished. He said some scenes "showed a lot more polish and precision" and praised the voice performances, particularly that of Cox.[22] At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, Chou and DeMarco discussed the film during Tolkien fan website TheOneRing.net's panel. They showed footage and provided some of the first official merchandise to attendees of the panel.[23]

The first trailer was released online in August 2024.[24] It opens with footage from Jackson's films and Shore's music for Rohan before segueing into the story and visuals of The War of the Rohirrim. James Whitbrook of Gizmodo thought this "aggressive leaning" into connections with Jackson's trilogy was telling, but he also felt that the rest of the trailer looked "very cool" and brought an interesting new style to familiar visuals from Jackson's films.[25] Matt Patches, writing for Polygon, said the trailer was gorgeous and felt the film would be bigger than Bakshi's 1978 animated The Lord of the Rings film.[26] Jordan King at Empire called the trailer "jaw-slackening" and felt the film would live up to its name,[27] while Amy West at GamesRadar+ said it looked "just as epic as you imagined".[28] The Japanese version of the trailer revealed that the character Saruman would be appearing in the film.[6]

Release
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on December 13, 2024, by New Line Cinema.[29] It was originally scheduled for release on April 12,[30] before it was delayed to the December 2024 date due to other schedule changes caused by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[29]
Warner Bros. has unveiled the trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an anime feature film set to release on December 13. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, the movie transports viewers to Middle-earth, exploring events 261 years before the iconic The Fellowship of the Ring. The story follows the family of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan, who must defend his kingdom from an invading army.

‘The Rings of Power’ interview: Sam Hazeldine on playing Adar, learning Black Speech and the Sauron problem

The War of the Rohirrim delves into the origins of Helm’s Deep, the formidable stronghold made famous in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The story takes place 200 years before Bilbo Baggins encounters the ring of power and centers on the house of Helm Hammerhand, King of Rohan, voiced by Brian Cox. The narrative focuses on his daughter, Princess Héra, voiced by Gaia Wise. The previewed scene depicted a council meeting that turns contentious, leading to a conflict with Wulf, a Dunlending lord seeking revenge. Australian actress Miranda Otto returns as Éowyn, narrating the film. The supporting cast includes Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Laurence Ubong Williams, and Shaune Dooley.

‘The Rings of Power’ interview: Dialect coach Leith McPherson on the land of Rhûn, Black Speech and Taylor Swift

The screenplay is written by Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, based on a story by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. The film is a collaboration between Warner Bros. Animation, New Line Cinema, and Sola Entertainment, with Joseph Chou producing. Phillippa Boyens, a key contributor to the original trilogy, serves as an executive producer. Notable returning creatives include Richard Taylor, Alan Lee, and Tolkien illustrator John Howe, promising a visually rich new experience for fans of Middle-earth.
Warner Bros. Pictures has released the trailer for Kenji Kamiyama’s animated film “The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim” starring Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto, Laurence Ubong Williams & Shaun Dooley. The film will be released in theaters on December 13th.

Plot Synopsis: Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg— a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.

What do you all think of the trailer? Warner Bros. is very smart in utilizing old “The Lord of the Rings” footage from Peter Jackson’s acclaimed trilogy to lure audiences into this new story. I must say, I’m surprised this is receiving a theatrical release, but given the rise in popularity of Japanese anime in recent years in the States, they must see some commercial aspects for it rather than dumping it on Max. And you know what? As a diehard “The Lord of the Rings” fan, I couldn’t be all the more happy and excited for this. The animation looks exquisite. Some of the voice acting left something to be desired as some of the performances sound wooden, but the action scenes, sense of scale, and return to Middle Earth are enough to sucker me in for another adventure in the world J.R.R. Tolkien created. What do you all think? Do you think this will be a Best Animated Feature contender? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account.
New Line on Thursday rolled out the first trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, its anime taking place 183 years before the events of the live-action LOTR trilogy, which is likewise based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Starring Succession‘s Brian Cox, Gaia Wise (A Walk in the Woods), Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer), LOTR franchise veteran Miranda Otto and more, the Warner Bros film rolls out internationally beginning December 11 and is slated for release in the U.S. on December 13.

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus), The War of the Rohirrim tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand (Cox), the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf (Pasqualino), a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg — a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra (Wise), the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.

Related Stories
2024-25 Awards Season calendar
2024-25 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Grammys, Guilds & More

'Arcane' Final Season Gets Premiere Date On Netflix - Update
Produced by Oscar winner Philippa Boyens, Jason DeMarco and Joseph Chou, the film also features the voices of Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (World on Fire), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), Shaun Dooley (The Witcher), Michael Wildman (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Bilal Hasna (Sparks) and Janine Duvitski (Benidorm).

Watch on Deadline
Ad Loading
00:00

01:08

Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou penned the script, from a story by Addiss & Matthews and Boyens, based on Tolkien’s characters. Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Sam Register, Carolyn Blackwood and Toby Emmerich served as executive producers.

Check out the trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim above.
Lord of the Rings fans can get ready to experience one of J.R.R. Tolkien's stories in the form of a Japanese animation feature film. Warner Bros. released a trailer The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim on Thursday, giving a glimpse of how the action-packed movie will look on the big screen.

The trailer teases the infamous battle in Middle-earth over the powerful kingdom of Rohan, a bloodthirsty quest for vengeance and mythical creatures in a time set 183 years before the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Peace -- and victory -- for King Helm's people may rest on his daughter's shoulders. Can she lead the way to save them from a deadly siege?

First announced three years ago, the prequel is directed by Kenji Kamiyama and will center on Helm Hammerhand, the last king in the first Rohan line. Known for his strength and somewhat dour demeanor, Helm's tale is one of grief, death, resurrection and a ring of power. Brian Cox will voice the king, while the cast also includes Gaia Wise as Héra, Helm's daughter; Luke Pasqualino as Wulf; and Miranda Otto narrating as Éowyn, her role in the movies.

Though this is not the first time Tolkien's books have been adapted as animated releases, it marks the first anime version of a LOTR story. Kamiyama is well-versed in the style, as he's known for his work on Ghost in the Shell, Star Wars: Visions, Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Akira. Peter Jackson serves as an executive producer for War of the Rohirrim, a film made in partnership between Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. The anime is due to arrive in theaters on Dec. 13.

Services and Software Guides
VPN

Cybersecurity

Streaming Services

Web Hosting & Websites

Other Services & Software

Tech
Services & Software
'The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep': Netflix Reveals Teaser Clip and Release Date
Geralt of Rivia's latest animated adventure involves merpeople -- and swords.

Kourtnee Jackson
Sept. 17, 2024 12:10 p.m. PT

The White Wolf heads seaside but it's not for peace and quiet in The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. As part of its Geeked Week roundup of announcements, Netflix shared the new animated film will arrive on the platform on Feb. 11, 2025.

Doug Cockle introduces the clip shared today, in which Geralt of Rivia and Jaskier the bard swap relationship advice around a campfire. Cockle voices Geralt in the film (he also voices the character in the video games), with a cast that features Anya Chalotra voicing Yennefer and Joey Batey as Jaskier, both actors from the Witcher TV series.

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is the second animated project in Netflix's Witcher franchise; The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf came out in 2021.

The new movie takes Geralt to a village where a longtime conflict festers. A series of attacks brings humans and merpeople to the brink of war, and the Witcher is hired to intervene. The superhuman swordsman is hesitant to escalate matters, but fans will see him make new allies -- and possibly enemies -- from both sides.

Netflix is learning more into animation, with upcoming releases that include Zack Snyder's Twilight of the Gods, Spellbound, That Christmas and season 2 of Arcane. This year, the streaming service also released titles such as Ultraman: Rising, The Imaginary and Exploding Kittens. And 2023's Blue Eye Samurai just won an Emmy Award.

Services and Software Guides
VPN

Cybersecurity

Streaming Services

Web Hosting & Websites

Other Services & Software

Tech
Services & Software
I've Been Reading Tolkien's Works for 30 Years, Here's How 'Rings of Power' Season 2 Holds Up
How faithful is the new season of Rings of Power to the source material? I've analyzed up to episode 6 of season 2.

Russell Holly
Sept. 20, 2024 9:00 a.m. PT
20 min read

Rings of Power season 2
Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is rapidly drawing to a close on Prime Video, with two episodes left to go. Aside from the promise of a beautiful expansion of Middle-earth as we know it from books and films, this show exposes folks who have never read the works of J.R.R Tolkien to what happened to this world before Sauron was turned in to a big angry flaming eyeball. But there's a sort of twist, unlike the Peter Jackson versions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, The Rings of Power doesn't come from a clearly written novel with a beginning and ending. The writers of this show are taking some liberties with the story and filling in gaps in time and narration left by J.R.R. Tolkien and his family.

In the first season of The Rings of Power, showrunners J.D Payne and Patrick McKay were clear they made adjustments to the story as it's told in the books based on an enormous amount of research and consultation with Tolkien scholars from around the world. Because Amazon only has access to a small section of the Tolkien legendarium, there are things in the books that are known but can't be shown on screen without breaking the agreement with the Tolkien Estate. We outlined those changes in our coverage of the last season and how these story choices differ from the source material. Just like last season, we will be updating this article with each episode to break down what is part of Tolkien's created lore and what has been filled in or altered by the creators of this show.

To be clear, this analysis does not include:

Whether people of color should be on screen as Dwarves, Elves or Harfoots. (They should, end of conversation.)
Whether Orc women and babies existed in Middle-earth. (They did, The Silmarillion is clear on this.)
Whether Dwarven women should have full beards. (Tolkien was never clear on this, so I won't be taking a position.)
Whether Tolkien is OK with people inventing things in his world. (This letter from Tolkien to his publisher in 1951 makes his position clear.)
spoiler-warning
Episode 1: Elven Kings Under the Sky
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power s2
Prime Video
This episode is all about setting up the stakes for the Elves, who now finally agree with Galadriel that Sauron is a threat to be taken seriously. To save their people and join the fight, the three rings need to find their way to their owners. Nori and The Stranger are also in this episode.

Sauron betrayed

The episode begins with a version of Sauron that does not look at all like Halbrand of the Southlands shortly after the fall of his master, Morgoth. Sauron does not appear to have the loyalty of the Uruk around him, and Adar lands a seemingly fatal blow which leads to the area known as Forodwaith to freeze over as Sauron's physical form vanishes. Over time, we see Sauron barely survive long enough to find enough energy to take the form of Halbrand and get on the ship we see him clinging to in the first season. A lot of what we see here was described in bits and pieces across the last season, but it's a great demonstration of Sauron's ability to change shape and deceive.

There's nothing in Tolkien's lore that explicitly states any of this happening, but most of it fits well within the gaps in the material about this Age. Forodwaith is a region described as being terribly cold due to Morgoth's extended presence there, and Tolkien never describes Sauron as having been attacked by Morgoth's forces during the change in leadership, but that's because very little about this area at this time was ever written about. I consider this a reasonable addition to the lore, even though what Halbrand does next does not warrant the same description.

Three Elven rings

What is possibly the largest deviation from Tolkien's writing takes up a lot of time in this episode, namely that Lord Celebrimbor forged three great rings while guided (at least initially) by Sauron disguised as Halbrand of the Southlands. In this episode, Elrond is so afraid of Sauron's potential influence that he runs away from Galadriel and then High King Gil-Galad when it becomes clear Elrond's position is not the popular one. Elrond runs to Cirdan the Shipwright, who almost throws the rings into the sea before the sea itself seems to discourage this action and causes Cirdan to look at the rings for the first time. He puts on the blue ring, Narya, while the other two are presented to Gil-Galad and Galadriel.
There is quite a bit about this, which differs from the source material. For starters, in Tolkien's story, the three rings meant for the elves were made after the rings for men and dwarves while Sauron was forging The One Ring and the elves hid their existence from Sauron. Elrond had no reason to fear the influence of these rings because they were made to defend against Sauron, and the risk of influence was not a concern. Additionally, Tolkien wrote Cirdan the Shipwright and Galadriel were given their rings by Gil-Galad willingly and without reservation. Later in Tolkien's stories, Elrond himself becomes a ring-bearer.

The unknown ahead

When we last left Nori and The Stranger, who we now know is a Wizard but not necessarily the Wizard everyone knows from that time he turned Bilbo Baggins into a burglar in The Hobbit, they were headed to the far-off land called Rhun. When we see them now, not only does the journey not appear to be going particularly well, but they get so lost only Poppy Proudfellow is able to catch up and help them. It sure did seem like Poppy was well on her way to becoming the next Trailfinder for her Harfoot community when we saw her last, but she is here now to help and conveniently found some pages from Sadoc's books about a time when Harfoots once traveled to Rhun.

Tolkien never got around to writing a ton about Rhun, and what he did write is fairly vague. We know Rhun is mostly home to a group of evil-leaning people called the Easterlings who were mostly interested in fighting one another until they were all united under a single banner by Sauron. We know Gandalf never explored Rhun, but early in his time on Middle-earth, Saruman the White, as well as the Blue Wizards Pallando and Alatar, did at some point before Sauron consolidated power. This creates a fairly large sandbox for the Rings of Power writers to play in, and that's exactly what we see on screen.

One quick note from this part of the episode: The Stranger has a vision where a "branch" floats before him and grants him visions of power when he touches it. Nori refers to the branch as a "gand" which is significant, as the name Gandalf comes from the Norse word Galdalfr or "wand elf". This could be a little easter egg to keep Tolkien-obsessed viewers believing this is Gandalf only to surprise us later, but we won't know for sure until we get there.

Episode 2: Where the Stars Are Strange
Promotional still for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Prime Video
Sauron's influence has quickly spread from Adar's darkened domain of Uruk soldiers to the Dwarven city of Khazad-dum and finally Eregion, the city of Elven smiths where the great rings are forged. Elrond gets a chance to show his quality.

Dwarven stubbornness abounds

With the Durins still not speaking with one another, the underground city of Khazad-dum is rocked by the eruption of Orodruin (later known as Mount Doom) and is plunged into darkness. Resources are dwindling, and an unseen source is stopping the Dwarven women who sing to the mountain from seeing a way out. Some are quick to blame Durin's friendship with Elrond while Disa tries to get the son and father to put aside their differences and solve this crisis for the sake of their kingdom.
Tolkien describes the Second Age as a time of prosperity for the Dwarves in Khazad-dum, and it seems like these scenes are setting the stage for that prosperity to begin. It's coming a little later than Tolkien describes, and there's nothing written about the eruption of Oroduin impacting this city, but it seems like this part of the story is setting up an exciting time for the Dwarves under the mountain. Tolkien wrote of a great working relationship between these dwarves and the elves of Eregion, which we have yet to really see take shape. If this is the first step toward that part of the story, it would end up being quite close to Tolkien's description of the city in this age.

Galadriel's vision

A dark dream at the start of this episode sees Celebrimbor uttering the beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous poem about the great rings before being brutally murdered by vines which grew from seeds Galadriel planted. When she returns from this vision, she seeks the advice of Gil-Galad who shares that his sense of foresight has also been enhanced since he started wearing the red ring, Narya. A warning is sent to Celebrimbor, but he never receives it.

Several elves have been known to possess limited forms of foresight, including Galadriel, but that ability is not granted to her by wearing the Nenya, the white ring. When she learns to master it, Galadriel will be able to use Nenya to conceal and to preserve but that is not what we see here. I would interpret this scene as Galadriel being able to more easily access the power of foresight now that the ring is opening her up to new power and not a power granted by wearing the ring, which would be well in line with Tolkien's writings on the how ring-bearers experience the power of a great ring.

The Lord of Gifts

After standing in the cold and the rain for what appears to be days due to Celebrimbor's agreement to not treat with Halbrand for any reason, the badly beaten man is brought inside and Sauron is finally able to finish what he started. A flash of bright fire and glowing smoke reveals to Celebrimbor that Halbrand was actually sent by the gods, and is a divinely powerful being called Annatar who is here to help.

Halbrand of the Southlands is not a character J.R.R. Tolkien ever created, but the person he becomes at the end of this episode very much is. Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, is described by Tolkien as having appeared to the elves of Eregion as an almost angelic emissary of the Valar (the gods of Middle-earth) to guide them to creating great objects of power. It's difficult to describe what is seen on screen as anything but that description. It's true Annatar should have been here the whole time, but his entrance is as close to straight from the text as we're likely to get.

Episode 3: The Eagle and the Sceptre
Rings of Power season 2
Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
Isildur and Berek live, Arondir and Theo grieve and Pharazon sees his chance to claim the throne of Numenor. The Dwarves seek partnership with Eregion and the power of a great ring.

Surviving in Pelargir

Having been released from service at the end of the last season by Elendil, the brave horse Berek finds his owner Isildur and saves him from an untimely demise. Isildur connects with Arondir and makes his way to Pelargir with a young woman of questionable intent in tow. The people now huddled at Pelargir are surviving, but mainly in grief after losing nearly everything.

If you've read much about the Second Age of Middle-earth, you likely know Pelargir to be where Numenoreans who remained faithful to the ways of their forefathers go to escape the moral decline of the only home they have ever known. The Pelargir we see on screen so far is not that place yet, but the story shown in the rest of the episode suggests that a version of Pelargir is on its way. What we see here is not something Tolkien wrote, but it doesn't explicitly counter the source material either. It's a nice way to put all of these characters in one place while the larger stories unfold elsewhere.

What we do get in this scene that lines up with Tolkien's writings is Bronwyn's passing. Tolkien never created Arondir or Bronwyn, and while their existence in this story has been a lot of fun to this point, their relationship couldn't continue. There are only three recorded long-term relationships between an elf and someone from the race of men and each are hailed as a great and terrible thing, which become a legend and song in this world. Bronwyn's passing was more or less guaranteed to maintain this pillar of Tolkien's lore.

Pharazon's Stolen Eagle

Now that the mourning period for Miriel's father and the King of Numenor draws to a close, it's time for the coronation. Miriel faces new challenges as she returns home from what is widely viewed as a failure, and her cousin Pharazon is presented with an opportunity to seize power thanks to Elendil's daughter, Earien. Just before a Great Eagle appears to bless this coronation, it is revealed that Miriel has been using Elvish power to influence her rule. This is viewed as a betrayal by the citizens who have grown to distrust Elves, and the coronation swiftly changes to Pharazon who becomes the new King of Numenor.

There are two pieces of this that are quite different from Tolkien's writings, but I'm going to give one of them a pass.

First, Tolkien's description of Pharazon's ascension to the throne is pretty gross by modern standards. As written, when Miriel's father dies, Pharazon breaks Numenoran law and forces her to marry him against her will. He takes power from Miriel who is supposed to be the next queen of Numenor, and uses that power to do all kinds of unpleasant things. What we see on screen is not at all what is written on the page in this instance, but I think it might be for the better in this case.

Second, and this is a discrepancy with Tolkien's writings that goes back to the Peter Jackson films as well, Tolkien established that Great Eagles can speak. This giant bird didn't just show up to look pretty while everyone celebrated, these are beings of incredible intelligence who would have arrived with a purpose. This Great Eagle arrived to bless the coronation of Miriel, and when it saw that wasn't happening, it would have almost assuredly spoken up about it instead of preening and then leaving.

Episode 4: Eldest
Tom Bombadil
Amazon Studios
The Stranger meets a hermit who helps set him on his path, Nori and Poppy meet some distant relations, Arondir saves Isildur from himself (again) and Elrond does his best impression of someone confidently in charge.

The Hermit and The River-woman's daughter

The Wizard with no name stumbles across the home of Tom Bombadil, a name easily recognizable to anyone who has read The Lord of the Rings before. In this episode, Tom Bombadil describes himself as "eldest" and explains he came to Rhun to see why all the green areas here had turned to sand. In helping The Stranger with a bath and a warm meal, during which we are told we did not hear Tom Bombadil singing with his wife Goldberry, Tom Bombadil explains his power and what must be done for The Stranger to control his own.

There is a ton to unpack here. Tom Bombadil is, in fact, "eldest" from what descriptions of him we have from Tolkien. The full scope of his abilities isn't known, but his traveling hermit lifestyle is consistent with Tolkien's works. Tom Bombadil's brief speech to the tree known as Old Man Ironwood likely sounds familiar if you've recently watched the Peter Jackson films, and that's because it's nearly identical to Treebeard talking to a tree after it tries to sample Hobbits. What is funny about that is those lines actually originate with Tom Bombadil in the books, making this both a throwback to the films and a correction of sorts with the lore as written.
A lot of Tom Bombadil's mannerisms, including the vague speaking patterns and the nearly constant singing, line up well enough with Tolkien's vision for this mysterious character. Where things differ fairly significantly is Tom Bombadil's explanation that the Dark Wizard is an Istar like The Stranger deviates significantly from Tolkien's lore. We know from Tolkien's writings there were only five Wizards, and none of them were evil until Saruman the White was manipulated by Sauron, which should not happen for a very long time.

Don't call her "The Gund"

Nori and Poppy wake to discover a being that bears a striking resemblance to a Harfoot but calls himself a Stoor. He leads them to a village where they discover a whole community of Stoors who live in holes in the ground. The leader of this village, a woman known as The Gund, is not big on outsiders and ties them up after learning they are in league with a Wizard. The only Wizard they know is the Dark Wizard, so distrust of this person they describe once as "Grand Elf" is immediate. Fortunately for Nori and Poppy, they're nice and inquisitive and quickly earn the trust of these people who appear to be distantly related.
Most of this did not happen in anything written by Tolkien. For starters, the halfling race known as Stoors are described as fishermen and river-folk. Smeagol, who we later come to know as Gollum, was a Stoor and absolutely did not come from Rhun. Tolkien did write that three races of halflings known as Harfoots, Stoors and Fallowhides did eventually settle together in an area later known as The Shire and their union became Hobbits as we know them later in this timeline. This story about a Stoor wandering off from Rhun to find this home and instead becoming intertwined with the Harfoots has no basis in Tolkien's works.

Elrond's Choice, Galadriel's Sacrifice

The tension between Commander Elrond and Lieutenant Galadriel leads a party of Elves into Tyrn Gorthad, otherwise known as the Barrow-downs, which seems to be known as a place where great evil sleeps. Elrond's decision to ignore Galadriel's warning because it came from the great ring Nenya ends in a standoff between Elves and Barrow-wights immediately followed by a fight with Orcs. Galadriel's ring touches an arrow and it seems to disappear, so she takes it off and gives it to Elrond to stall for time so the rest of the party can escape. Elrond insists Galadriel did not do this to save them, but to save the ring.
As we mentioned previously, the tension between Elrond and basically everyone he respects as leaders is unnecessary because Tolkien's writings made it very clear the three rings were free of Sauron's influence because they were made without his knowledge and were hidden from him. We do know the great ring Nenya's powers are concealment and preservation, so it's possible the arrow seeming to almost dissolve is an interpretation of the latter power, which would be one of the only things in this scene consistent with Tolkien's writings.

The other lore deviation in this scene is the Barrow-wights themselves, which Tolkien wrote were sent to the Barrow-downs by the Witch King of Angmar early in the Third Age and not by Sauron early in the Second Age as this episode suggests. In the Second Age, the area known as Tyrn Gorthad was not considered dark at all and was eventually a part of a kingdom called Arnor. That is a topic for another episode.

Arondir saves the day, over and over again

After revealing to Isildur that his lovely traveling companion had pledged herself to Adar, Arondir saves everyone from a very angry Entwife called Winterbloom, who has decided everyone who has ever hurt a tree has got to go. Arondir talks Winterbloom down while Isildur makes eyes at the woman he just learned was at the very least curious about evil before her betrothed shows up and finally makes it clear this is not the woman for him. Theo, the reason Arondir and Isildur left Pelargir in the first place, is also in this scene.

Just about everything in this scene plausibly fits within Tolkien's lore as long as you remember Arondir, Theo and Astrid are all characters created for this show. We don't know much about Entwives, and it is very cool to finally see this one on screen and ready to take matters into her own branches.

Episode 5: Halls of Stone
A group of orcs snarl menacingly at something off camera
Ross Ferguson/Prime Video
Durin III experiences the power of his Ring, Annatar pushes Celebrimbor further outside of his comfort zone, and the Faithful are no longer tolerated in Numenor.

Troubles in Eregion

Annatar is hard at work trying to corrupt not just Celebrimbor, but the Gwaith-i-Mirdain who work for him. We see the beginning of the creation on the Nine rings for Men, as well as some intense reckoning when Celebrimbor is confronted with the effects the Dwarven Ring is having on King Durin.

In truth, Tolkien didn't write a ton about this time. We have already discussed how this show has changed the order in which the Rings were made to create some additional drama, but in this episode, that drama does a fantastic job showing Annatar's manipulation of the Eregion Elves. A lot of what is shown of Eregion in this episode is not only plausible within Tolkien's writing but also a lot of fun to watch.

Separately, we see the Doors of Durin, complete with the Mithril-infused stone as a gift from Celebrimbor. This celebration highlights the cooperation between Celebrimbor and Narvi, which is just about as close to exactly what Tolkien wrote as one can get without having him write the script himself.

Durin's Greed

As soon as Durin III puts the Ring on, Khazad-dum prospers. Durin III seems to suddenly have remarkable new instincts for where to mine and how to expand, but Disa hears the thing we all know exists beneath the mines that are about to be opened. Unfortunately, Durin III seems unwilling to hear any council that doesn't come from his Ring-powered insights.

This is another area where Tolkien's writings are thin, but it is worth highlighting two things that deviate from the lore. The first is Disa hearing the Balrog. We know Disa is an original character for the show, and her ability to sing to the rock for resonance is something created for this show. Tolkien never wrote specifically about any Dwarf being aware of the Balrog before it was far too late. There's not a ton about Dwarvish culture in this era we do know for sure.

As a result of this warning, Durin IV swears to his wife Disa that he will never put on his Father's Ring. Tolkien never wrote any of that, obviously, but small and somewhat obvious spoilers ahead: Durin IV will absolutely be wearing that ring.

The banishment of the Faithful

Numenor has a new king, and with that comes a more intense loathing for anyone loyal to the Valar. Kemen takes the lead over the newly formed King's Men to make it clear to the Faithful that they are not welcome in this new world. Elendil makes a promise to be the calm eye in the oncoming storm and struggles to meet that promise.

The compressed timeline of this show means a lot of the things Tolkien wrote about the downfall of Numenor are happening quite quickly. A lot of the subjugation of the Faithful should have happened under the previous king, but in this show, we will see the more violent parts of this subjugation happen under the newly crowned Ar-Pharazon.

Similarly rushed but still largely as written is Ar-Pharazon's resentment of the eternal life granted to the Elves. As Tolkien wrote it, a lot of that resentment comes after Numenor has captured Sauron and the manipulator continues to do what he does best. There's still plenty of time for this to happen in future seasons of the show, but the whispers of that resentment this early on are notable in that it deviates slightly from Tolkien's writing.

Episode 6: Where is He?
Rings of Power season 2
Ross Ferguson/Prime Video
Darkness descends on Eregion as Annatar pushed Celebrimbor to finish the Nine Rings, the Dwarves of Khazad-dum are fighting, and The Stranger is presented an ultimatum by Tom Bombadil.

Celebrimbor's decline

In an attempt to "atone" for greed creeping into the seven rings given to the Dwarf lords, Celebrimbor and his Gwaith-i-Mirdain work through their entire supply of Mithril attempting to make the nine rings for Men of Middle-earth. This exhaustion and disarray creates space for Annatar to separate Celebrimbor from his most trusted smiths, ensuring he is the only one whispering in the Elf lord's ear. Meanwhile, Eregion is facing an army and it appears this is also part of Annatar's plan.

While Tolkien did not write about the sacking of Eregion as a story with a beginning, middle and end, there's plenty we do know about the events leading up to the fall of this great city. Most of what you see of Annatar manipulating Celebrimbor in this episode is entirely plausible when compared to Tolkien's description of these events. That said, because this show has tweaked the order and reasons Celebrimbor created the rings, Annatar is in the city already when the attack begins. As Tolkien wrote it, Annatar had left Eregion after the rings for Dwarves and Men were created, then he resumed his appearance as Sauron to create the One Ring. He then led his army from Mordor to Eregion and led the attack.

It becomes clear by the end of the episode that Annatar has orchestrated this whole conclusion and manipulated everyone involved to ensure his army arrives to take the city. So while the details may have been altered to fit the drama on screen, it seems like the end result will be close to what Tolkien wrote.

King Durin's might

In addition to the ring offering Durin III the ability to "see" where precious deposits are in his underground realm, we see in this episode a great increase in strength as he flings his son back a great distance with little effort. This move further convinces Durin IV and Disa that the rings has corrupted their father, leaving them with little choice other than to physically stop their people from delving deeper into the mines and possible waking up a Balrog.

The Ring of Thror, which was gifted to During III by Celebrimbor, is described by Tolkien as useful almost entirely for multiplying wealth and amplifying the natural skills. The major drawback to wearing these rings is an increased desire for dominance, which led to the Dwarf lords discovering lasting consequences for their newly enhanced greed. Tolkien never describes these rings specifically as strength enhancers, and that's what we see happening in this scene. It's not immediately clear where deviation from Tolkien's lore is headed, as he never wrote about infighting between King Durin and his son, but it's fun to watch all the same.

Tom Bombadil's ultimatum

The Stranger is seeing visions of his friend Nori in deep trouble with the Dark Wizard, and he struggles to follow Tom Bombadil's advice. This leads Tom to offer an ultimatum, stay here and find your staff so you can help way more people or try to save Nori and risk all of Middle-earth falling to Sauron and the Dark Wizard.

Just about every time we see or hear about The Stranger in this season, there's another easter egg pointing at him being Olorin, more commonly known as Gandalf. This episode's Easter egg is from Tom Bombadil, who refers to this Wizard as a servant of the secret fire -- something Gandalf claims to be right before his most famous line in the Peter Jackson films. It's worth repeating that this character being Gandalf would be a significant and egregious deviation from Tolkien's writings on the subject, and that goes double for the possibility of the Dark Wizard being the Wizard Saruman.

As Tolkien never wrote about Tom Bombadil taking up residence in Rhun or sending Wizards on quests, most of what we see in this part of the show is new material.

Miriel and the Abyss

In an effort to save Elendil from being made example of by the newly anointed Ar-Pharazon, Miriel takes his place in an ancient judgement ceremony designed to ensure death unless the Valar themselves intervene. She faces a great wyrm, and when she returns to the surface unharmed Elendil celebrates her as Queen of the Sea and drives Ar-Pharazon to consult the same Palantir used to oust Miriel from her position.

We've discussed before how this show has altered the relationship between Pharazon and Miriel, as well as the acceleration of the abuse visited upon the Faithful in Numenor. Nothing about what we've seen in this episode lines up with Tolkien's writing, but it does create space for Pharazon to send troops to Eregion to find Halbrand and possibly the forced marriage between Pharazon and Miriel. If that happens, this will be another instance of the showrunners adding dramatic scenes to get the viewer to the ending Tolkien intended.

Services and Software Guides
VPN

Cybersecurity

Streaming Services

Web Hosting & Websites

Other Services & Software

Tech
Services & Software
Watch the Action-Packed New Sneak Peek for Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance
The Netflix series was created entirely with CGI using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5.

Gael Cooper
Sept. 16, 2024 5:36 p.m. PT

A giant robot stands in the door of a battle helicopter about to leap out.
The new Netflix animated series Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance premieres Oct. 17.
Screenshot by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
Netflix released a preview Sept. 16 of its upcoming six-episode anime action series, Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance. The nearly 5-minute-long clip was revealed as part of Geeked Week, Netflix's fourth-annual fan event. A Netflix summary of the scene says, "11 months into the One Year War in U.C.0079, top Zaku II pilot Captain Solari faces the Earth Federation's new lethal weapon: the mobile suit Gundam."

The series was created entirely with CGI using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 and resembles a live-action movie. It premieres on Netflix on Oct. 17.

The Netflix series is the latest addition to the Gundam franchise, a Japanese military/sci-fi series featuring giant robots, or mecha. Its first TV series aired in 1979, and since then, the franchise has included TV shows, movies, video games, manga, novels, plastic models and more.

"Am such a big fan of the Gundam series, hope this one will be good," wrote one YouTube commenter.

Earlier in September, Netflix released a Geeked Week teaser trailer highlighting some of the streaming service's hottest properties, including Squid Game, One Piece, Stranger Things, K-drama Hellbound and Black Mirror.

Show less