When Is the Lord of the Rings Movie Set?

With The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim set to release in a few days, fans are wondering about its timeline and where it fits in the LoTR universe’s history. This upcoming film follows the war between King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand and the Dunlending lord Wulf. Wulf seeks vengeance for his father’s death at Helm’s hands.

So, curious about The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s place in the LoTR timeline? Here is everything we have learned.

Here’s when Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is set in the LoTR timeline

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim takes place approximately 183-200 years before the events chronicled in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This would also put the film over a 1000 years after the events of Amazon Prime Video’s The Rings of Power, which takes place during the Second Age.

However, J.R.R. Tolkien’s appendices suggest that there is a gap of 250 years between the events of The War of the Rohirrim and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The appendices reveal the timeframe of the reigns of the various kings of Rohan, such as Goldwine and Gram. It puts Helm Hammerhand’s reign between 2691-2759 and Theoden’s reign (which takes place in the films) between 2948 and 3019.

The War of the Rohirrim covers the appendice of Helm Hammerhand’s reign. In this appendice, Helm Hammerhand is visited by Dunlending Freca. Freca claims descent from King Freawine and asks for his daughter’s hand in marriage to his son, Wulf. This resulted in a skirmish between Helm and Freca that led to the latter’s death. These events are depicted in the official trailer of The War of the Rohirrim. The trailer also shows the growing conflict between the Dunlendings and Rohan.

Helm’s daughter, who is not named in Tolkien’s text, has a major role in the upcoming film. In the movie, she is named Hera and is poised to be the main opposing figure of Wulf. Kenji Kamiyama, best known for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Blade Runner: Black Lotus, directed the movie. Miranda Otto, who plays Éowyn in the original trilogy, serves as the film’s narrator.