Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

lesser-ranked Lord of the Rings movies, the first cinematic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's original books came in the form of animation thanks to Ralph Bakshi's story. With The War of the Rohirrim, however, another step into the wide world of animation has been made.

The live-action adaptations of anime, seeing the reverse happen with The Lord of the Rings is certainly refreshing and offers a new, distinct look at an iconic world. With that in mind, there are several stories that could be told as an anime film after The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, allowing this distinct sect of the franchise to continue.

6 A Sequel To The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim

The Story Is Left Off For More Adventures

Perhaps the most likely anime film to be crafted in The Lord of the Rings franchise is a sequel to The War of the Rohirrim. The ending of the story left the possibility of sequels, with the main candidate for this story being Fréaláf. This character was introduced as the cousin of Héra in the film and a dedicated ally of Helm Hammerhand. By the time of The War of the Rohirrim's ending, Fréaláf led the counterattack against Wulf and the army of Dunlendings, saving the remaining people of Edoras.

Afterward, Fréaláf is shown being crowned as the new king of Rohan, ushering in a new line of royalty that leads to Théoden's reign in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Regarding a sequel, it could be interesting to see how Fréaláf's reign was solidified. As of The War of the Rohirrim's ending, the country is left in a sorry state; Edoras is being rebuilt and Wulf's uprising likely caused death and destruction across Rohan. Therefore, exploring Fréaláf's early reign and how he rebuilt the kingdom would not only be an interesting story but also set up Théoden's future in The Lord of the Rings.

5 A Spin-Off Of The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim Starring Héra & Olwyn

The Shieldmaidens Of Rohan

Another potential sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim could come more as a spin-off starring Héra and Olwyn. At the end of The War of the Rohirrim, Héra and Olwyn set off from Edoras as Shieldmaidens, the female warrior tribe of Rohan, on their own quest. This sets up connections to the original trilogy, with Héra receiving a letter from Gandalf about Mordor searching for Lord of the Rings' Rings of Power. With this in mind, several anime spin-offs could be created.

One such spin-off is the idea teased in The War of the Rohirrim that established a potential alliance between Héra and Gandalf. Crafting an anime sequel that explored Gandalf's suspicions of the Rings of Power would have multiple benefits, from tying The War of the Rohirrim to the main franchise, setting up the original trilogy, and even preluding the story of the Lord of the Rings movie, The Hunt for Gollum. Beyond that, Héra's character could be explored further.

The many Lord of the Rings projects developed since Jackson's original trilogy have all been tied to the main story; The Hobbit was a prequel, The War of the Rohirrim sets up Rohan's Lord of the Rings future, and Prime Video's The Rings of Power tells the story of Sauron's rise to power in Middle-earth's Second Age. This goes to show that standalone stories are not all that common in The Lord of the Rings, despite the vastness of the world. With that said, an anime spin-off centering on Héra and Olywyn could provide exactly this: a standalone story about Rohan's Shieldmaidens.

4 Stories From The First Age Of Middle-earth

The Earliest Part Of Middle-earth's Timeline Is Ripe For Exploration

Concerning The Lord of the Rings' timeline, most Ages of Middle-earth have been explored. The Second Age is the focus of The Rings of Power, while the Third and Fourth Ages are the setting of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies. The only Age yet to be focused on in a big way is Middle-earth's First. This Age was vastly important to the history of Middle-earth and outlined the prelude to Sauron's rise to power by chronicling his subservience to the one true foe of the world: Morgoth.

The First Age was briefly shown in The Rings of Power in a flashback of the season 1 premiere, depicting the War of Wrath against Morgoth.

The First Age of Middle-earth lasted almost 5000 years, presenting a wealth of anime films that could be created to explore this part of the timeline. One of Tolkien's largest books, The Silmarillion, outlines the history of the First Age, meaning there is no shortage of stories from the source material to be picked. Moreover, the design work and animation of anime are distinct and unique, meaning the First Age could be explored in a new visual medium than the original movies and its closely connected spin-offs as a way of differentiating the ancient parts of Middle-earth.

3 Origin Stories Of Other Middle-earth Kings

Following In The War Of The Rohirrim's Footsteps

Although The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is closely connected to Peter Jackson's original trilogy in many ways, it still featured a unique cast of characters. The exploration of characters like the aforementioned Helm Hammerhand and Fréaláf allowed the film to flesh out the origin stories of some of the most prominent kings in Middle-earth's Third Age. In future anime films, the franchise could continue to do this.

There have been many important kingdoms in the franchise over the years, from Gondor and Rohan to Arnor and even the lesser-explored Middle-earth lands of Rhûn. While the founders of Gondor and Arnor - Elendil, Isildur, and Anárion - are being featured in The Rings of Power, many other kings over the years could receive anime origin stories. This would flesh out the world just as The War of the Rohirrim did and tie to the overall franchise as a result, all while presenting new stories and characters in distinctive art styles.

2 An Adaptation Of The Silmarillion

The War Of The Jewels Could Make For A Fantastic Movie Series

As alluded to, the First Age is the home of many integral stories of Middle-earth. None of these stories are more integral than The Silmarillion, a recount of the War of the Jewels that led to Morgoth's defeat and Sauron's banishment from Middle-earth until the Second Age. Other than The War of the Ring and The War of the Last Alliance shown in Jackson's original movies, The War of the Jewels is undoubtedly the biggest conflict Middle-earth has ever seen. As such, many have desired an adaptation of the story for a long time.

This would provide audiences with a long-anticipated story that ties to The Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings by fleshing out a massive stretch of Middle-earth's history...

An anime movie could focus on this. Rather than focus on other elements of the First Age as mentioned previously, an animated spin-off movie - or even a series of movies - could adapt The Silmarillion properly. This would provide audiences with a long-anticipated story that ties to The Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings by fleshing out a massive stretch of Middle-earth's history.

1 A Sequel To The Lord Of The Rings

What Comes After Frodo's Victory Could Be A Story Concept

A big question of the franchise is Lord of the Rings. Although the fates of most main characters were highlighted in Jackson's movies, not everything about the Fourth Age was explored. For years, the idea of a sequel to The Lord of the Rings has been floated regarding future movies, with the anime style of The War of the Rohirrim potentially offering a vehicle for this story to be explored.

Anime filmmakers could be given the opportunity to lend their voice to the Fourth Age. Be it a more low-stakes anthology series of movies exploring the characters after Sauron's defeat or the potential adaptation of Tolkien's one idea for a Lord of the Rings sequel, the possibility is more likely than ever given Warner Bros. willingness to allow a new medium to explore Middle-earth. Whether this will happen after The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim remains to be seen, but evidently, there are many options for the further exploration of the world through the eyes of anime filmmakers.