Mark Megahan
Lord of the Rings fans have something to get really excited about. Gaia Wise sure did. When the official call came in, confirming she had landed the starring role in the new animated feature, she screamed. So “loudly her neighbors called the police.” She lives in London, so “the first two people to find out were two Camden coppers. I told them, ‘I’ve got a new job!’ and they looked at me like I was mad.”
Lord of the Rings prequel
There are a lot of interesting aspects to this Lord of the Rings based feature film, due to hit theaters December 13. Gaia Wise as the protagonist is only one of them. Another is that it’s fully animated, not a live action hybrid.
Fans say that’s a whole lot less distracting. Middle Earth scenery and inhabitants can be as fantastic as the animators can imagine.
Fully titled “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” the story line was lifted from two pages in Tolkien’s appendices.
Meant to bring “a more humane dimension to the Helm Hammerhand” character, the full-length epic is set in the mountain fortress that will later become known as “Helm’s Deep.”
Not only is Wise a main character, she’s the star. Providing the voice behind her stylized likeness, Gaia portrays “Héra, the youngest and only daughter of King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan.” He’s being played by Brian Cox.
The scene is set “183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s live-action The Lord of the Rings trilogy.” Actually, J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, but we’re only interested in the film versions for now.
A fresh chapter
Ms. Wise is especially thrilled because she’s “a self-confessed Tolkienist and lifelong fan of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies.” She actually read the books. For Gaia, playing Héra is a “deeply meaningful moment.”
She declares “I love the films. I watch them two or three times a year. I’m a Tolkien fan, I read the books once, and I think now as an adult I should make my way back to them.”
The 24-year-old happens to be the “daughter of celebrated actors Emma Thompson and Greg Wise.” She’s expected to play a very powerful example for modern women.
“When we first meet Héra, her world is thrown into chaos when Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), the son of a former ally Freca (Shaun Dooley), arrives with his father to ask for her hand in marriage. Strong-willed and independent, she refuses.” That’s only the beginning. There weren’t any rings in her immediate future.
He dad backs her up. King Helm Hammerhand “rejects the proposal outright.” That’s when “the situation turns violent.” We don’t want to give too much away but “she is the heart of the conflict that begins the story. It’s literally a bunch of men trying to decide what her fate is.”
Whether you’re a fan of the Lord of the Rings series or not, this looks like a fun way to spend an evening of fantasy, with Gaia Wise in better than living color for bonus points.
