Watch the first 8 minutes of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

New Line Cinema has released the first eight minutes of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the upcoming anime fantasy film.

The new footage starts with the quote, “It is not easy to hold on to hope when an ill wind blows.” Set 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, The War of the Rohirrim teases the impending showdown between Rohan and the Dunlendings. Rohan is led by the fierce King Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox). Meanwhile, the Dunlendings follow Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), who looks to avenge the death of his father at the hands of Helm. Héra (Gaia Wise), Helm’s daughter, is the one who must defend the people of Rohan and lead them in one final stand at Hornburg, the fortress that will eventually become Helm’s Deep.

Miranda Otto voices Éowyn, the film’s narrator and future shieldmaiden of Rohan. Otto played Éowyn in Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The rest of the voice cast includes Lorraine Ashbourne, Yazdan Qafouri, Benjamin Wainwright, Laurence Ubong Williams, Shaun Dooley, Michael Wildman, Jude Akuwudike, Bilal Hasna, and Janine Duvitski.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is directed by Kenji Kamiyama from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou. Philippa Boyens, who won a screenwriting Oscar for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, is a producer and contributed to the story of The War of the Rohirrim along with Addiss and Matthews.

Jackson, the visionary behind The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is listed as an executive producer along with his creative partner and wife, Fran Walsh.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens in theaters on December 13, 2024.