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 propertyBlade Runner: Black Lotus. He was even involved, during the early days of his career, with the legendaryanimemovieAkiraas an artist, so he’s no stranger to working on iconic properties - and was keen to jump into the world ofThe Lord of the Rings.
Check outThe Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrimtrailer 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 inThe 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.
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“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-actionmoviesin 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.”
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Working on a Lord of the Rings production, the importance was not lost on Kenji-san. His love for the franchise andThe War of the Rohirrimbecame 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. CreatingThe War of the Rohirrimis 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.”
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In my review ofThe 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.”
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When the credits rolled forThe 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 canread my interviewwith stars ofThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Gaia Wise and Laurence Ubong Williams.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimarrives in cinemas on 13 December 2024.
Topics:Anime,The Lord Of The Rings,Warner Bros,Features,Interview,TV And Film
