New Lord of the Rings cast warn sexist haters: ‘This is a new era’-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

As Lord of the Rings producers Phillipa Boyens and Peter Jackson return to Tolkien’s Middle Earth after a decade, the new lead stars address the online backlash.

The Kenji Kamiyama-directed feature, The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim, is an anime epic set 183 years before Frodo Baggins ever got hold of the ring. 

And the fresh new format is unlike anything devoted LOTR fans have seen before. ‘I’ve likened it to a dance,’ Phillipa, who has been part of the franchise for over two decades, told Metro ahead of the film’s release. 

In a rare but refreshing move we follow female heroine Hera (Gaia Wise), daughter of King Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), who is related to the beloved Lord of the Rings character Éowyn (Miranda Otto).

However – among the excitement for this fresh batch of Peter Jackson-helmed stories – there have also been dissenters voicing their dismay at women and people of colour finally being front and centre of what has traditionally been a white male-dominated genre. 

As online trolls post racist and sexist remarks, lead stars Gaia and Laurence Ubong Willilams (who plays Hera’s kinsman Fréaláf), firmly hit back against the haters. 

Hera is at the heart of this new Lord of the Rings tale (Picture: Warner Bros.)

‘Hang on, I’ve got to figure out a PC version to this,’ Gaia, 25, joked before continuing: ‘Look, it is a new era of Tolkein, yes, but it is [also] the Tolkein that they know and love.

‘Yes, it’s now a slightly more female-centric view but I think that that’s incredibly necessary to the world and I think only adds to the films that they know and love and if they can’t get over that then I don’t think they are really fans.’

Theatre and screen star Laurence agreed: ‘The essence of what Tolkien’s created and the magic that Phillipa and Peter were part of 20 years ago… none of that has been adulterated by any of the work that we, Kenji or anyone here has put into it. 

‘A lot of people are drinking too many flavours of kool-aid served up by populism on either side. Put the Kool-aid down, just come and see the film.’

The plot follows the Rohorrim (people of Rohan) who must retreat to safety when the land is thrown into turmoil. It is up to Hera to embrace her destiny and protect her loved ones – aka a classic tale of hope amid the darkness. 

The film incorporates plenty of nods to the wider lore for eager fans, as well as offering a richer understanding of the heritage of the shieldmaidens of Rohan and how Helm’s Deep got its name.

In essence a Tolkien candy shop.

The pair are long-time fans of the fantasy world, and Gaia took clear inspiration from one of Eowyn’s most well-known moments to inform her own character.

‘Put down the Kool-aid’ says star Laurence Ubong Williams to angry fans (Picture: Warner Bros.)

Miranda Otto, who played Eowyn in the original trilogy, returns as a narrator (Picture:Pierre Vinet/New Line Cinema. )

‘I think [Eowyn’s] “I am no man” is absolutely quintessential Lord of the Rings and absolutely informed the way that I voiced her and brought her to life. They are both incredibly powerful in different ways and I think Hera finds her power as the film goes on,’ she explained.

In fact, the story goes one step further in reclaiming the female perspective as Hera is not even named in Tolkien’s work.

Although Philippa admitted it was ‘not a deliberate choice to elevate a female character’ after researching the story there was no denying ‘she was at the heart of the conflict’.

The next natural step was to recruit Miranda to reprise her role as Eowyn and narrate the tale as a bringing together of the old and the new. 

‘It was wonderful – she is so brilliant,’ Phillipa recalled about welcoming the actor back into the fold after all these years.

‘She turned to me when she stepped into the studio and said “Phillipa, it may take me a while to find her again” and it took her five minutes. She was there.

‘And afterwards she said: “I just know this character”. She has such a strong sense of her and that never left her, even after nearly 20 years, it was still there.’

Producer Phillipa Boyens spoke about the brilliance of the anime medium (Picture: Warner Bros)

And she already has a rebuttal to the anime naysayers. 

‘I completely understand the notion that for some fans watching Lord of the Rings in anime form might be a little disconcerting or they may have doubts they are not gonna be able to fall into the world.

‘All I can say to them is “do yourself a favour, go see it in a cinema. I think it’s really, really going to surprise you”. Anime is a beautiful art form.’

Although the movie hinges around Hera, audiences also get a heartfelt insight into her relationship with her father, Helm and her struggle to prove herself to him. 

Aside from one audiobook narration over two decades ago, as the Succession star blurrily reminisces, this is his introduction to Tolkien proper. 

He joked: ‘I was never into the books so when everyone started getting cast, except me, for Lord of the Rings I looked into what was going on.

‘So I just knew this show was going to happen and of course this whole New Zealand unit was astonishing and the work was just amazing, and grand scale too.

‘As a Celt there’s something very Celtic about the whole story, the landscape and the sense of the land – could easily be Scotland and the Highlands.’

The 78-year-old actor is no stranger to playing a complex patriarch on screen, and in recent years is best known for his role as Logan Roy – a character with who there are plenty of parallels to draw with Helm. 

‘I could see their effect as the products of the patriarchal system. They are the near-extreme products of that system and power and the need for power. 

‘Usually there’s always something in childhood which tells a slightly different story of which way something is going and I think Helm had that element about him, that he became the man he was because of something in his past.’

And as for what we can learn from Helm’s character growth through the movie, he offered but one reflection: ‘I think Helm is acknowledging that the patriarchy is over and the growth of the mistress. We had the patriarchy, we now need a female one – not rampant but just whole.’

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is out in cinemas now.

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