An alleged marketing document for Warner Bros. Pictures’ upcoming animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim reveals more details on how the film is changing Tolkien’s original story.
A still from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures
If you are unfamiliar with the story of Helm Hammerhand, Tolkien wrote the story in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It begins with a confrontation between Helm Hammerhand and a rival lord named Freca. Freca asks for Helm’s daughter in marriage to his son Wulf. Hammerhand rejects it and calls him fat. Freca responds saying, “Old kings that refuse a proffered staff may fall on their knees.” The two then participate in a king’s council. However, after it is concluded Hammerhand confronts Freca, rebukes him for his words of rebellion, and kills him with a single punch. He then declares Freca’s son, Wulf, and his men enemies of the king.
Four years after this confrontation Rohan is invaded by Dunlendings led by Wulf. They were joined “by enemies of Gondor that landed in the mouths of Lefnui and Isen.”
A still from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures
Rohan loses to the forces of the Dunlendings and their allies led by Wulf in a battle at the Crossings of Isen. After being defeated, Helm Hammerhand flees to the safety of the Hornburg, where the invading forces set up a siege.
The invading forces also split with Wulf leading a portion of the army to Edoras to take the city. Tolkien wrote, “Wulf took Edoras and sat in Meduseld and called himself king. There Haleth Helm’s son fell, last of all, defending the doors.”
The Meduseld in Edoras as depicted in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Warner Bros. Pictures
Meanwhile at the Hornburg a Long Winter sets in and Rohan is covered in snow for five months. Both forces suffer from the cold and a lack of provisions. In an attempt to acquire provisions and against his father’s council Háma leads sortie, but does not return and “were lost in the snow.”
Following this Tolkien detailed, “Helm grew fierce and gaunt for famine and grief; and the dread of him alone was worth many men in the defence of the Burg. He would go out by himself, clad in white, and stalk like a snow-troll into the camps of his enemies, and slay many men with his hands. It was believed that if he bore no weapon no weapon would bite on him.”
One morning Helm did not return and he was discovered “dead as a stone, but his knees were unbent.”
A still from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures
As for Fréaláf, when the winter broke, he “came down out of Dunharrow to which many had fled; and with a small company of desperate men he surprised Wulf in Meduseld and slew him, and regained Edoras.”
Aid from Gondor would eventually arrive and he would drive out the Dunlendings from the rest of Rohan and even Isengard. He would eventually be crowned king of Rohan with the wizard Saruman arriving to give him gifts.
Helm’s body would be taken from the Hornburg and laid to rest in the ninth mound where “the white simbelmynë grew there most thickly so that the mounds seemed to be snow-clad.”
A statue of Helm Hammerhand as seen in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Warner Bros. Pictures
Now, a new marketing document obtained by YouTuber Arch provides new details on the upcoming animated film and how it will change Tolkien’s story.
READ: Peter Jackson Explains Why He’s Returning To ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ With ‘The Hunt For Gollum’
According to the document, Héra, the unnamed daughter in Tolkien’s story is the main protagonist. The document states, “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.”
It adds, “This all-new standalone cinematic adventure forges the legend of Héra, the rebellious daughter of Helm Hammerhand as she answers the call to protect her people in a battle for their survival that shapes the destiny of Middle-earth.”
Furthermore, the document asserts that Héra is “a fierce, young, complex, rebellious woman, defending and ensuring the survival of her people even against her childhood friend.”
Of note, Tolkien does not name Héra at all and she plays no role in the actual story he wrote. On top of this, there is no evidence that Wulf and Hammerhand’s unnamed daughter were childhood friends. In fact, Tolkien makes it clear that “Helm mistrusted [Freca], but called him to councils; and he came when it pleased him.”
Helm Hammerhand as depicted in Middle-earth: Shadow of War (2017), Monolith Productions
Ironically, the document also implies that they intend to bait and switch potential viewers. It details that it wants to entice viewers into the film by reinforcing “connections between the world that LOTR fans know and love with this new film – familiar characters (Helm, Eowyn, stunt casting), beautiful settings; Tolkien easter eggs and a continued tradition of quality filmmaking at its finest.”
Furthermore, Arch speculates that the document also implies it might use director Kenji Kamiyama as a shield to deflect criticism of the film given it is focusing on the unnamed daughter of Helm Hammerhand rather than Helm himself as the protagonist.
The document notes, “Reinforce legitimacy in the anime world by leaning into director Kenji Kamiyama as an authority in the genre.”
Arch commented, “Amazon, are you suggesting using this man as a big, fat shield in order to waylay criticism or perhaps even make people like me think, ‘Well, the director’s okay, I’m sure nothing bad can happen.”
Miranda Otto as Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Warner Bros. Pictures
One of the film’s producers Philippa Boyens, previously confirmed that Héra would be the main protagonist. She told Entertainment Weekly, “In the appendices where the story is drawn from, we get these quite interestingly drawn male characters, and then we get this young female character who is never named — and that was really interesting to me.”
“We know Helm has a daughter, and we know that she was central to the conflict that happened. But myself, and especially screenwriter Phoebe Gittins, were drawn to her,” she said. “We could feel the weight of being that unnamed daughter, which immediately piqued our interest: Who was she? How did she live?”
Philippa Boyens via Nerd of the Rings YouTube
Drew Taylor at TheWrap also confirms that Héra is able to ride horses and … communes with the Great Eagles.”
In fact, he reports she calls “on the power of a seemingly long-lost tribe of female warriors” to drive out the Dunlendings from Rohan.
A still from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures
What do you make of this new information from this marketing report?
