With the recent announcement that Warner Bros and New Line Cinema will be developing new movies set in Middle-Earth, there has been a lot of speculation about what these new Lord of the Rings movies will look like. WB already has one deeper cinematic exploration into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien set for 2024, as the anime-styled The War of the Rohirrim is set for release in April of that year. Beyond that, however, very little is known about what specific stories will be making their way to the big screen next. We do know that these stories will likely be set in the Third Age of Middle-Earth, as Amazon has already staked its claim on the Second Age with The Rings of Power and WB does not have the adaptation rights to most of the First Age stories from The Silmarillion.
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What WB and New Line do have the rights to adapt are any stories presented The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the additional Appendices provided at the end of the latter. Within those bounds, there are still a lot of great stories to be found, specifically from within the Appendices, which provide a lot of backstories to the world, its characters, realms, and peoples, specifically, those spotlighted in the core story of The Lord of the Rings. While WB is already pulling the story of Helm Hammerhand out of those texts for The War of the Rohirrim, another great story that should be prioritized is that of the War in the North. The War in the North refers to the other major battles fought in the War of the Ring, which were happening concurrently with the main events shown in The Lord of the Rings. By exploring the various other battles against Sauron during the War of the Ring, WB and New Line could revisit the main story of the franchise without directly remaking Peter Jackson’s films or copying them too closely. Here’s why a War in the North film is the best idea to revitalize The Lord of the Rings on film.

Related: Lord of the Rings: How War of the Rohirrim Could Establish a New Path for the Series

Returning Characters

Warner Bros. Pictures

A film depicting the northern fronts of the War of the Ring would allow for several key characters from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films to return. While the core group of characters in The Lord of the Rings, such as Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf, Gimli, and others would be off-the-table, as their journeys at that point in time are already well documented in The Lord of the Rings, numerous other characters from those films and the Hobbit films play central roles in the War in the North. Specifically, the likes of Galadriel, Celeborn, Thranduil and the Dwarves of Erebor are on the front lines of those battles. This would allow for numerous actors from both of Jackson’s trilogies to reprise their roles.

Two key actors that would need to return for a War in the North film are Cate Blanchett, who played Galadriel in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; and Lee Pace, who played Thranduil in The Hobbit. As the rulers of Lothlórien and Mirkwood respectively, those characters play main roles in the story of The War in the North, as their lands are central to the battles that occur throughout it. Marton Csokas could also return as Celeborn, while several of the Dwarves from the Hobbit films could also reprise their roles since their home of Erebor is also a key location during the war. By including Mirkwood and Erebor in a film like this, it would provide an opportunity to more thoroughly explore the homes of Legolas and Gimli, as they hail from those two kingdoms, respectively. On top of that, it would more thoroughly connect the story and characters depicted in the Hobbit films to the world of The Lord of the Rings.

One of the largest beneficial factors of telling the story of The War in the North, is that it also provides a lot of freedom to introduce new characters or bring back other familiar faces. That’s because, while a general outline of the events exists in the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, it’s not nearly as detailed as the core story is. There’s a lot more wiggle room to play with the story, the characters within it, and how its events unfold. As such, other key characters from previous films, such as Elrond and Radagast the Brown, could be included as well. Numerous fan-favorite characters from the books that didn’t make their way into Jackson’s films, such as the legendary Elven hero Glorfindel and Elrond’s twin sons Elladan and Elrohir, could also be added into the story in order to gain more interest from the hardcore fans.

Related: How The Rings of Power Does (and Doesn’t) Connect to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Movies

Familiar Story and Continuity

New Line Cinema

It’s clear to see that WB envisions The Lord of the Rings as its next big franchise. Recent reports have indicated that the studio is hoping to make The Lord of the Rings series into a major franchise similar to Star Wars. Looking at the current Star Wars model, this likely means that WB will be developing many different prequels, spin-offs, and potentially even sequels to The Lord of the Rings. It can also be assumed that these new films will be set within the same universe and continuity as the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies directed by Jackson. The War of the Rohirrim is already confirmed to be set in that same continuity as Miranda Otto, the actor who played Éowyn in Jackson’s films, is set to reprise the character as a narrator for that film.

Now, we’re not suggesting WB adapt the video game The War in the North from the early 2010s, as that particular iteration of this story was pretty messy. What we are saying is that a version of those events, which is more accurate and faithful to Tolkien’s writing, would make for a great film. By telling the story of the War in the North, WB and New Line could stick close to the central story of The Lord of the Rings that fans are familiar with, thoroughly keeping the new film connected to what people have loved before while still telling a new story. The film would depict the other major battles that happened in Middle-Earth at the end of the Third Age, which were only ever alluded to within Jackson’s films. As such, it would take audiences to familiar places, such as the Lonely Mountain from the Hobbit films and Lothlórien from The Fellowship of the Ring, while also allowing for new locations in Middle-Earth, such as the Iron Hills, Rhûn and Mount Gundabad, to be highlighted as well.

The biggest benefit of making a film about the War in the North is that it would be a simple way to reintroduce audiences to the cinematic world of Middle-Earth. Since the story is set against the same backdrop as The Lord of the Rings, with the forces of Sauron being the main antagonistic presence, it’s a much easier story to jump into. There’s no need to spend a ton of time introducing the audience to the world or a new time period, because they are already familiar with that particular point in time in Middle-Earth. Since audiences already have the knowledge of what else is going on in the War of the Ring at that time, a War in the North movie can jump right into the thick of the story.