Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim is bringing back Christopher Lee’s Saruman – and it isn’t through AI

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That is indeed Christopher Lee's real voice

Saruman
(Image credit: New Line Cinema)

Lord of the Rings screenwriter Philippa Boyens has not only confirmed the late Christopher Lee's return as Saruman in War of the Rohirrim, but assured fans that his voice was pulled from authentic archival footage.

"I reached out to Gita, Lady Lee, and she said the thing that I think Peter (Jackson) felt in his heart. Christopher would've wanted this," Boyens told TheOneRing. "And so we went into his records and got to go back and hear his voice, not just doing the lines, but talking to us as well. We based it on a line from The Hobbit, which is, 'Are you in need of assistance, my lady?' [It was] a version of that line... Can we use it? Can we find a new read of it?"                         

Lee played Saruman in both The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy, with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies being the final movie released in his lifetime.  Saruman is the leader of the Istari, the wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form to go up against Sauron. Saruman has a different arc than the other wizards, however, as he is corrupted by power and tries to take over Middle-earth.

Set approximately 183 years before the events of Lord of the Rings, The War of the Rohirrim is set to explore the era of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), the King of Rohan, and the origins of the fortress at Helm's Deep.

Lauren Milici
Lauren Milici
Senior Entertainment Writer

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.