The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is a new anime-style film set within the world of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. The film is set one hundred and eighty-three years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and is set in the iconic kingdom of Rohan, under the rule of Helm Hammerhand. Based on a story from the appendix of The Return of the King, The War of the Rohirrim will follow Hammerhand and his mighty horsemen as they battle against their enemies, the Dunlendings.

Several iconic characters from Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy will appear in War of the Rohirrim, including Miranda Otto’s Eowyn, who will narrate the story as a history. While Eowyn’s inclusion makes sense, many fans were surprised when another familiar face popped up in the trailer for the animated spinoff. Saruman returns in War of the Rohirrim, marking the earliest appearance of the White Wizard who would eventually betray his allies in favor of an alliance with Saruman. Interestingly, Sir Christopher Lee, the actor who famously played Saruman in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, died at the age of 93 in 2015. This left many fans wondering who plays Saruman in the upcoming film–and the answer may surprise them.

Christopher Lee Returns as Saruman In The War of the Rohirrim

The Film Uses Archive Recordings to Bring Christopher Lee Back as Saruman

Much to fans’ surprise, Christopher Lee returns as Saruman the White in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Lee originated the character in 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring and returned for The Two Towers and The Return of the King, though his scene in the latter was cut and later restored in the extended edition of the film. Lee returned a decade later for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Battle of the Five Armies. However, the actor passed away shortly after the third Hobbit film was released, marking his final film released during his lifetime. This makes his return in The War of the Rohirrim all the more surprising, as the film will be released nearly a decade after his death.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Cast & Character Guide

Character
Played By

Helm Hammerhead
Brian Cox

Héra
Gaia Wise

Wulf
Luke Pasqualino

Éowyn
Miranda Otto

Fréaláf Hildeson
Laurence Ubong Williams

Freca
Shaun Dooley

Saruman
Christopher Lee

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Christopher Lee returns to the role of Saruman through the use of archival footage and recordings from the original Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. It appears that his role in The War of the Rohirrim will be relatively short, with perhaps only a few lines in the entire film, each taken from his performance in previous films. The creators behind the upcoming animated film likely felt that Christopher Lee’s iconic performance as Saruman made it impossible to recast the character, instead choosing to use the original actor’s work to bring the wizard to life one last time.

Why Fans Are Okay With Lee’s Return in the New Lord of the Rings Movie

Saruman’s Return Feels More Respectful Than Other CGI Revivals

Moviegoers have had mixed reactions to films bringing actors back to posthumously reprise their iconic roles. One of the most famous examples is Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which created a completely CGI facsimile of the late Peter Cushing to reprise his role as the iconic Imperial officer. More recently, Christopher Lee’s fellow Lord of the Rings actor Ian Holm was digitally recreated to return to the Alien franchise in Alien: Romulus. The DC Extended Universe infamously went all-in on this concerning trend for The Flash, depicting several actors from previous DC films, including the late Christopher Reeve as Superman. Generally, fans have rejected the posthumous use of actors’ likenesses in later releases. The practice feels disrespectful to the memory of late actors, especially when films could just as easily recast a role. However, Christopher Lee’s return as Saruman seems to have avoided such criticisms for a few integral reasons.

The Lord of the Rings Franchise

Film
Year
IMDb Rating
Rotten Tomatoes Score
Streaming

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
8.9/10
92%
Max

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002
8.8/10
95%

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003
9.0/10
94%

The Hobbit Trilogy
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
7.8/10
64%

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013
7.8/10
74%

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014
7.4/10
59%

Prime Video
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
2022-Present
6.9/10
84%
Prime Video

Upcoming Spinoffs
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
2024
Upcoming

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
2026
Upcoming

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The fact that Saruman is returning in an animated medium rather than through a CGI recreation in a live-action film likely contributes to the lack of controversy surrounding Christopher Lee’s posthumous appearance. The process feels far less soulless and disrespectful in this scenario and has been done many times in the past without much fanfare. Furthermore, Saruman’s return seemingly doesn’t use A.I. to recreate the actor’s voice but rather relies on previous recordings he did that are already the property of New Line Cinemas and Warner Bros. Studios. The recordings were always intended to be released as part of a Lord of the Rings movie, and are simply being cut in such a way as to relate to the events of The War of the Rohirrim. This technique was similarly used by Lucasfilm to bring back Sir Alec Guinness for a brief voiceover role as the older Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Moreover, Christopher Lee was famously the biggest Lord of the Rings fan there was. The only member of the film’s cast to have met J.R.R. Tolkien in person, Lee read the books regularly and was enthusiastic about his role in the cinematic adaptations. After a conversation with Lee’s widow, Birgit Kroencke, the filmmakers behind the upcoming film decided that Christopher Lee would have wanted to appear in War of the Rohirrim, having been such a massive fan of the franchise in general.

Future Lord of the Rings Movies Shouldn’t Repeat The War of the Rohirrim’s Posthumous Appearance

The Lord of the Rings Shouldn’t Make a Habit of Resurrecting Dead Actors

While Christopher Lee’s return in The War of the Rohirrim likely won’t stir any feathers, new Lord of the Rings spinoff movies shouldn’t make a habit of resurrecting dead actors to reprise their iconic roles. This shouldn’t be a major problem moving forward, as most of the main cast of the films is still alive, with the notable exceptions of Bernard Hill, who played King Théoden, Ian Holm, who played Bilbo Baggins, and Lee himself. Nevertheless, with more live-action features on their way, it would be good for the Lord of the Rings franchise to establish immediately that they do not plan to have actors appear as their iconic characters posthumously.

The franchise based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original books is about to get much bigger, beginning with The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum in 2026, but fans are cautious to see whether the new films will be respectful to the original trilogy and its cast. Refusing to follow other franchise’s footsteps in “resurrecting” dead actors would be a major step in the right direction for The Lord of the Rings. In cases where actors have died, the films can merely work around their appearance in any given story or, if their presence is necessary, the role can be recast with a new actor. In the case of a character like Bilbo Baggins appearing again, the films could always bring back Martin Freeman, who could just as easily play the older version of The Hobbit in place of the late Ian Holm. Whatever the circumstance, there is no need for The Lord of the Rings to make a habit of casting dead actors in future roles.

Although Sir Christopher Lee’s appearance as Saruman the White in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim isn’t offensive to most fans, it could mark a dangerous precedent for the franchise moving forward. Hopefully, the filmmakers behind the new Middle-earth movies will have enough respect for the original cast to not make a habit of posthumous actor appearances.