We got a trailer! With actual footage and everything!
It is...
... how can I put this...
... a seemingly-accurate retelling of the tale of Helm Hammerhand, with the addition of a) mumakil and b) the daughter of Helm (canonically unnamed but pivotal, here named Hčra which fits better than most of the RoP names and is apparently Icelandic), who appears to have dropped straight out of a Miyazaki/Ghibli movie.
... but on reading the Wikipedia article they have put a
lot of thought into her. She's apparently based on
Ęthelflęd, Lady of the Mercians, who fought off the Vikings for seven years. She's still
extremely anime (in the trailer, at least), but seems to be more than the RoP style generic fantasy dartboard characters.
Also: narration by Miranda Otto as Eowyn! Because if Eowyn had a favourite historical person, it would 100% be Helm's shieldmaiden daughter, huge anime eyes aside.
Release is set for 13 December, so I guess December is Middle-earth Movie Month again!
hS