The Lord Of The Rings: War Of The Rohirrim's Main Character Is Barely Mentioned In Tolkien's Work

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"The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" is a unique shift from traditional Middle-earth media. It's been decades since we got a Middle-earth adaptation in animated form. (You've got to go back to the '70s and '80s for those sub-par old Ralph Bakshi and Rankin/Bass "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" adaptations to find something similar.) "War of the Rohirrim" is also brand new in the sense that it comes in an anime format. Even though it is technically a prequel to the live-action "Two Towers" movie, this innovative presentation gives it just as much of a Studio Ghibli feel as a Peter Jackson one.

While "The War of the Rohirrim" is new territory for Middle-earth adaptations, unlike Prime Video's very different Second Age series "The Rings of Power," the film's story treads well-worn territory — specifically, the plains, fortresses, and strongholds of Rohan. We see Helm's Deep (albeit an earlier version of the fortress) and the Rohirrim both riding over the fields and fighting on foot.

But what about the movie's protagonist? What about the woman who pushes the plot forward for two straight hours? Voiced by the talented Gaia Wise, Hèra may be the main character of the film, but what is her place in J.R.R. Tolkien's lore? What did the author say about her? Turns out, he said very little. In fact, her name isn't even in the source material.

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Hèra is the daughter of the Rohirric King Helm Hammerhand. No, literally, in the source material, that's her primary role: "Helm's daughter." Here's the one time she's briefly mentioned in the appendices of the "Return of the King" book: "To one of these councils Freca rode with many men, and he asked the hand of Helm's daughter for his son Wulf." This is the scene where Freca (voiced by Shaun Dooley in the movie) confronts Helm (Brian Cox), only to be taken outside and shown the business end of Helm's fist. This leads to the infamous one-punch kill and, eventually, all-out war between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings. And Hèra? She's left out of the narrative after her brief mention. She doesn't even show up in the actual story. She never rides a horse, wields a sword, or faces her bitterest foes. At least, Tolkien never wrote as much. Sure, she's there somewhere, but after Wulf comes a-courtin' in the story's opening salvo, the men take center stage in the typical traditional chronicled format, sidelining Helm's daughter in the process.

Remember in the movie when Hèra tells Wulf, "Our fathers speak as if I were not even in the room?" There's more subtext there than just the heroine's in-story struggle. She was an afterthought for the author, too.

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So, why choose Hèra to play the lead role in Warner Bros.' anime adaptation? Let's count the ways. First, there's the fact that focusing on Hèra is a sweet and simple way to depict a strong female lead on the screen without wandering too far from Tolkien's texts (where lead female characters are few and far between). Rohan is one of the areas of Tolkien's world where women are particularly empowered, as exemplified by Éowyn (whom Miranda Otto reprises for "War of the Rohirrim"). Indeed, Tolkien wove the shieldmaiden concept deep into the Rohirric fabric, which gives Hèra a cool role as a predecessor of the battle-hardened, Nazgûl-slaying heroine from "The Lord of the Rings."

On top of the natural cultural fit, Hèra represents a unique character in Tolkienian adaptations in the sense that while she's technically from the original legendarium, the Oxford professor gave us absolutely nothing about her. We don't even know her name. (The Hèra moniker was actually inspired by Hera Hilmar, who played the lead role of Hester Shaw in the Jackson-produced "Mortal Engines.") Everything else about Hèra is made up for the movie. Is it inspired by other characters, like Éowyn? Sure, but she's the rare mix of bonafide canon and all-original.

And then there's the fact that the story of King Helm Hammerhand and his family is a beautiful blend of the known and the unknown. The tale of the war with Wulf and the Dunlendings is less than three pages long as Tolkien wrote it. It provides a solid outline with some killer details, like Helm's one-punch kill and his stalking prey in the snow. While this is a good start, the sketched narrative leaves plenty of room for creative liberties and artistic expression.

Jackson and Company have big plans if "War of the Rohirrim" goes well. Producer and Middle-earth alumnus Philippa Boyens recently went on record saying they even have another idea for a "banger of a second film" in the anime format if this first one goes well. She noted that they're trying to bring back Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn for the upcoming Gollum movie, too. While those projects are a ways off still, there's no doubt that this anime prequel was a savvy re-entry point as Boyens, Jackson, and their crew end a decade-long hiatus from Middle-earth. It is made in a low-cost medium and uses a perfect adaptive story that can whet appetites afresh for a new wave of Jackson-style Middle-earth media to come.

"The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" is now playing in theaters.