Popverse's top stories of the day

• How the Star Trek V: The Final Frontier campfire scene encapsulated and inspired everything we love about the Marvel Studios movies & TV shows
• WATCH: Yellowstone: John Dutton's fate, Kevin Costner's exit, and season 5's biggest surprise revealed
• Creature Commandos at NYCC '24: The weirdest, wildest & Weasel-est moments from DC & Max's James Gunn-led panel

Have you missed the experience of seeing a Lord of the Rings film in theaters? Us too. We dearly miss the sight of watching Aragorn dramatically open those double doors at Helm's Deep. Lucky for us, an upcoming anime film called The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will take us back to Middle-earth, this time for a story we have not yet seen onscreen. As the title suggests, the film will center on the Kingdom of Rohan, led by their king Helm Hammerhand, as they fight against the Dunlendings. 

Since the film is being released theatrically, you might be wondering what it's rated. Like the other Lord of the Rings films, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is rated PG-13 for "strong violence". The film will release on December 13, 2024. The story centers on Héra, the daughter of Helm Hammerhand (for whom Helm's Deep is named after), who goes to war with the Dunlendings after their leader is killed. The events of the story take place 183 years before The Fellowship of the Ring. 

The War of the Rohirrim is directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who has directed an episode of Star Wars: Visions ("The Ninth Jedi"), the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series, and Blade Runner: Black Lotus. Kamiyama's career goes back far, having worked as a background artist on Patlabor in the late 1980s. 

While the film is covering ground that the Peter Jackson films did not depict, it does have the involvement of some members of the original trilogy's creative team. Philippa Boyens, the co-writer of the original trilogy, produced The War of the Rohirrim, and also has a story credit for the film. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh also executive produced the film. 

Whether you're Shirefolk, Elven, Dwarven, or something else, there's a good reason to love Lord of the Rings. We do! With that in mind, we have a dragon's horde of goodies for you from a Lord of the Rings reading guide, a Lord of the Rings watch guide, details on the upcoming animated film Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim, a full the Lord of the Rings reunion panel you can watch, how the OG Hobbit actors stay in touch every day on a groupchat, and the true message of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, according to Gimli himself - John Rhys-Davies.