The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim vs The Rings of Power

After years of very few movies and TV shows set in Middle-earth (and a few Hobbit movies we wish hadn’t happened), suddenly our cup runneth over with J.R.R. Tolkien goodness. There are not one but two major Lord of the Rings-themed projects on the horizon: The Rings of Power on Amazon and War of the Rohirrim at the cinema.

So what’s the story of these stories? Let’s break it down.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Amazon’s big swing of a Lord of the Rings show is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before Frodo and Sam and Aragorn were born. Sauron is coming into his own as a dark lord, the elves are still plentiful on Middle-earth, and the Númenoreans — long-lived humans who rule from an island stronghold — are hugely powerful.

This is an era that Tolkien wrote about, but not in great detail, and it hasn’t been explored much at all onscreen. Amazon is going to change that with an opulent, wildly expensive series packed with both familiar faces and newcomers.

The Rings of Power premieres on September 2 of this year.

The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim

Meanwhile, New Line Cinema — the folks who brought us Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies — are making an animated feature set during the Third Age of Middle-earth…but still quite a long time before Frodo and company come into the story.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is about Helm Hammerhand, a King of Rohan for whom the fortress of Helm’s Deep is named. It will release into theaters on April 12, 2024.

It’s hard to escape the sense that War of the Rohirrim is sort of riding on the coattails of Amazon’s much splashier project, but at the end of the day, if it means we get to spend more time in Middle-earth, it’s hard to complain.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels