Could ''The Lord of the Rings: Battle of Rohan'' be made into a sequel or series?

"There are so many stories to tell," says producer

Image Credit: Warner Bros.

The latest animated film in the "Lord of the Rings" series, "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," has the potential for further sequels and series -- even a new trilogy may be realized. Producer Philippa Boyen said. "The War of the Rohirrim" is an original story that expands on the description of King Helm, the strongest of Rohan, a country of knights, depicted in "The Lord of the Rings Supplement" by J.R.R. Tolkien. Helm's daughter, the young princess Hela, grows up in the peaceful country of Rohan, but when her childhood friend Wolf appears as an enemy and puts the kingdom in danger, she challenges the battle to protect her homeland.

In an interview with The Playlist, Bowen pointed out that there is still room to delve deeper into Tolkien's original work. "What The Battle of Rohan proved is that standalone stories work well in the world of Middle-earth. I fell in love with the format and would love to see a new animated film," he said. However, he said that it's up to the audience to make that happen. "Our audience includes fans of the original trilogy (The Lord of the Rings series) as well as the broader animation audience, and we're interested to see how they respond. [Omitted] If there's a demand for a sequel, there are still plenty of stories to tell, and really interesting stories to tell."

Currently, the Lord of the Rings series is also preparing a new live-action film, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the previous films, will star and direct, Peter Jackson will produce, and Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will return as screenwriters, aiming for a US release in 2026. According to Bowen, the Lord of the Rings brains are considering various standalone film ideas, including a sequel to The Battle of Rohan. "After The Hunt for Gollum, we want to focus on standalone stories (derived from the original). 

If we're ambitious, we could do a classic epic trilogy format like the original Lord of the Rings, which depicts the War of the Rings." Bowen, who seems to have come up with various ideas, laughs and says, "No, I need to take a nap. I started thinking about those stories and my brain is tired." If The War of the Rohirrim is a hit, it will open up grand possibilities such as further series and new animations. The movie The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of Rohan will be released in theaters nationwide on Friday, December 27, 2024.