“The Lord of the Rings” franchise has a date to return to theaters. Warner Bros. Animation and New Line’s anime stand-alone “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” will arrive in theaters on April 12, 2024. “Rohirrim,” first announced in June, explores the story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep. It is set hundreds of years before filmmaker Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,“ which included a lengthy battle sequence taking place at the fortress. The anime film will also dive into the blood-soaked era of the mighty king of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand. Kenji Kamiyama, who helmed ”Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex,” is directing. “Rohirrim” has a script from Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, based on a story by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, the duo known for Netflix’s “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” Two decades ago, New Line first released filmmaker Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” Jackson’s third film, “Return of the King,” won best picture, one of 17 Oscars the trilogy took home. The three films earned a combined US$2.9 billion upon initial release, with Jackson returning to direct a prequel trilogy based on “Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel “The Hobbit.” Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote “Rings” and “Hobbit” with Jackson and Fran Walsh, is executive producing “Rohirrim” with Joseph Chou producing. Animation work has been underway since last year at Sola Entertainment, the company that recently worked on “Blade Runner: Black Lotus.” A voice cast for the “Lord of the Rings” film stand-alone will be announced soon, according to Warner Bros. The news comes 24 hours after Amazon released the trailer to an unrelated project, its TV prequel “Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power,” which is billed as the most expensive television show ever created with a budget of US$1 billion. (SD-Agencies) | 