Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s director on a dream come true

Kenji Kamiyama has the honour of directing the first Lord of the Rings animated movie in nearly half a century, an honour that surely carries a lot of weight.

Kenji-san has directed multiple projects in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, as well as the adaptation of Ridley Scott’s iconic sci-fi property Blade Runner: Black Lotus. He was even involved, during the early days of his career, with the legendary anime movie Akira as an artist, so he’s no stranger to working on iconic properties - and was keen to jump into the world of The Lord of the Rings.

Check out The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim trailer below!

“What intrigued me about this project was the story of Helm Hammerhand, a royalty bloodline for the Kingdom of Rohan. As the name Hammerhand suggests, the ruler in The War of Rohirrim, Helm Hammerhand [Brian Cox], is a strong leader and king,” Kenji explained to me when I sat down recently to chat with the director.

“Helm Hammerhand is also a popular character with The Lord of the Rings fans and even has a huge statue in Peter Jackson’s live-action movies in the Helm's Deep fortress. Despite the character only being depicted in 11 pages in Tolkien’s appendices, he was an impactful character for humans in a mythical world.”

“However, even for a character as strong as Helm Hammerhand, he alone is not enough to make a movie, so I talked to producers Phillippa Boyens and Jason DeMarco about how the project should be approached,” he continued. “We decided that in Tolkien lore, women are sometimes only treated as people to marry to strengthen alliances with kingdoms.”

Warner Bros. Pictures

“In the original Tolkien text, there was mention of strengthening an alliance between Rohan and the Wildmen of Dunland by marrying Wulf and Helm Hammerhand’s daughter Hèra [Gaia Wise], the latter of which wasn't even mentioned by name. While not a prominent character in the text, we felt that Hèra was perfect to exist as the heart of the story in The War of the Rohirrim and also offered an opportunity to explore the lore of the Shieldmaidens.”

Working on a Lord of the Rings production, the importance was not lost on Kenji-san. His love for the franchise and The War of the Rohirrim became obvious during my conversation with the director. This is more than a project he’s been paid to work on. It’s a franchise dear to his heart.

“This project is huge to me. I have done a lot of Hollywood IPs before, but this is extra special because I’m a fan of The Lord of the Rings,” said Kenji-san gleefully. “This is a property I never thought I’d be part of. Creating The War of the Rohirrim is the most I’ve ever challenged myself. Being a director on this is such an adventure and an exciting experience. It’s a dream come true.”

Warner Bros. Pictures

In my review of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, I said it’s a captivating tale “brought to life with its heroic story, stunning animation, and excellent performances from top to bottom, and I can’t wait to watch it again and again.”

When the credits rolled for The War of the Rohirrim, it left me wanting more, especially when it came to the story of the Shieldmaidens. “Having a strong female lead is something we strongly believe in, so there is a possibility that there might be more productions based around the Shieldmaidens,” Kenji-san teased to conclude the interview.

You can read my interview with stars of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Gaia Wise and Laurence Ubong Williams.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim arrives in cinemas on 13 December 2024.