Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimfeatures the appearance of a familiar wizard, Saruman the White, despite taking place hundreds of years before the original trilogy. Thestory ofThe War of the Rohirrimsurrounds the kingdom of Rohan, featured heavily in the latter two movies of Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy.TheLord of the Rings’timelinecan certainly be confusing, yetThe War of the Rohirrimis nestled between Prime Video’sThe Rings of Powerand Jackson’sThe Hobbitseries.
Telling the story of Helm Hammerhand and his daughter, Héra,The War of the Rohirrimsees the two face off against the armies of the Dunlendings, solidifying the kingdom of Rohan long before the War of the Ring. As such,The War of the Rohirrim’s cast of charactersfeatures many new faces, devoid of the familiar names of Jackson’s movies andThe Rings of Power. That said, by the time the ending of the film rolls around, a known member ofThe Lord of the Rings’Istari Ordermakes a surprise cameo appearance: Saruman the White.
Lord Of The Rings' Saruman Returns At The End Of War Of The Rohirrim
Saruman’s Shocking Cameo Explained
In the final sequence ofThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,the aftermath of the titular conflict is outlined. Héra rides out to meet with another wizard, Gandalf, who seeks information about Mordor’s search forLord of the Rings’Rings of Power. Meanwhile, Héra’s cousin, Fréaláf, takes the throne of Rohan as the successor of Helm Hammerhand. Fréaláf is shown being crowned as king, giving Héra his blessing to embark on her shieldmaiden adventures. As Fréaláf is rebuilding Edoras, he is greeted by the new Lord of Isengard, Saruman.
His death and the routing of his army of wild men saw Isengard unoccupied, giving Saruman a stronghold close to Rohan…
Saruman enters the ruins of Edoras’ Golden Hall and greets Fréaláf. The wizard tells the young king that he is available should Rohan ever need his aid. This comes after the death of Wulf,The War of the Rohirrim’s primary antagonist, who had previously laid claim to Isengard. His death and the routing of his army of wild men saw Isengard unoccupied, giving Saruman a stronghold close to Rohan that he becomes synonymous with inThe Lord of the Rings.This is Saruman’s only scene inThe War of the Rohirrim, setting up his Middle-earth future.
Christopher Lee Voices Saruman In Lord Of The Rings: War Of The Rohirrim
The Iconic Actor Returns For One Final Voice Role
Perhaps the most shocking, yet simultaneously satisfying, element ofSaruman’s return inThe War of the Rohirrimis the return of Christopher Lee. Lee’s return is so surprising due to the actor’s tragic passing in 2015, which saw the fanbase ofThe Lord of the Rings,that of Lee’s many horror movies, and those from the several franchises Lee had frequented come together to honor the legendary performer. Despite this, Lee somehow returned as Saruman forThe War of the Rohirrimalmost a decade after his death, begging the question of how this was achieved.
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The details around Lee’s return as Saruman inThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimwere revealed before the movie was released in an interview withTheOneRing.Philippa Boyens, one of the producers and screenwriters of Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy, outlined how Lee’s voice was able to be used inThe War of the Rohirrim, which Boyens also received story credit for. Boyens revealed that the creators of the 2024 anime film combed over the recordings from Lee’s time as Saruman inThe Hobbittrilogy.
Christopher Lee’s line fromThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies-“Are you in need of assistance, my lady?"- is the line used as the basis for Saruman’s inThe War of the Rohirrim.
Eventually, the above line was found that could be reused forThe War of the Rohirrim. This means that, thankfully,Christopher Lee’s voice was not recreated using AIor any of the other techniques that have received criticism in recent Hollywood for reviving actors long after their deaths. Instead,The War of the Rohirrimis much less controversial given that the line comes directly from Lee himself and is finally unveiled many years after he passed into Hollywood legend.
How Saruman’s Role In War Of The Rohirrim Sets Up His Lord Of The Rings Future
As alluded to,The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimsets up Saruman’s future in Middle-earth. Concerning the film franchise, Saruman is not seen next until his appearance inThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. His appearance inThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armiessees him aiding the White Council in exiling Sauron from Dol Guldur. To an extent, Saruman’s brief cameo inThe War of the Rohirrimprecedes this as it establishes the good and powerful nature of the White Wizard at this point in Middle-earth’s timeline.
Beyond that,The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimalso sets upSaruman’s darkerLord of the Ringsfuture. In the trilogy, Saruman serves Sauron and is dedicated solely to the eradication of Rohan. This is shown inThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, from Saruman’s manipulation of King Théoden via Gríma Wormtongue to the raising of a wild man army alongside his Uruk-hai that lays siege to Helm’s Deep.
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Saruman’s links to Rohan are evident, whichThe War of the Rohirrimexplains. Saruman becoming the lord of Isengard sees him becoming a strong advisor of Rohan, explaining how he eventually becomes so influential over King Théoden and why it is him who is entrusted by Sauron to destroy the kingdom of men. This is all set up usingThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s brief cameo from Saruman the White, establishing the wizard’s tumultuous future.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Cast
Set before the events of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated action-adventure fantasy film that follows a King of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand. When his home comes under siege by Dunlendings, Hammerhand prepares himself and his allies to fight back against them, with the war leading to the eventual establishment of Helm’s Deep.
