First 8 minutes of the new Lord of the Rings anime movie arrives online for free - and fans are already loving it

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim releases its first few scenes online

The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim footage
(Image credit: Warner Bros)

Good news Lord of the Rings fans, the opening scenes of the upcoming animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim have landed online and are available to watch for free. And it looks like fans are already impressed.

The footage was posted on Twitter by Warner Brothers and captioned “Before you return to Middle-earth, here's an extended preview of what's in store." The 8-minute clip opens with a man caught in a blizzard who comes face to face with a terrifying beast that we cannot see. After a vicious attack, a survivor flees and tells the kingdom’s leader that "he" has killed them all with his bare hands. The rest of the clip shows the dark and snowy winter sweeping through the kingdom, Orcs collecting fistfuls of rings to take to Mordor, and a new look at main character Héra Hammerhand voiced by Gaia Wise. Watch the full clip below.

It looks like fans are already loving the new movie as one replied to the tweet writing, "Wow I can’t wait!" while another posted a GIF of Frodo Baggins applauding.

Set 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy based on the beloved books by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim tells the story of the King of Rohan Helm Hammerhand as he tries to protect his kingdom against ruthless Dunlending lord Wulf.

The official synopsis from Warner Bros reads: "Wulf, 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. 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."

As well as Wise, the voice cast also includes Succession’ Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand, Snowpiercer’s Luke Pasqualino as Wulf, and The Lord of the Rings’ Miranda Otto, who is reprising her role as Éowyn. Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, and Michael Wildman also star.

The animated film, directed by Blade Runner: Black Lotus’ Kenji Kamiyama also boasts the same screenwriting team behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as Peter Jackson himself on board as a producer.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim releases on December 13. For more, check out the best anime you should be watching now and the latest from 2024's biggest new anime.

Megan Garside
Megan Garside
Junior Social Media Editor, GamesRadar+

I'm the Junior Social Media Editor here at GamesRadar+, handling all of Total Film's social platforms. However, I also write, covering all things film and TV for the site's entertainment section. I joined GamesRadar+ in 2023 and have been here ever since. I previously worked in communications after graduating with an MA in journalism. In my spare time, you can find me binging horror movies or getting lost in a cosy little game on my Switch.