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TheLord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimis an upcoming anime fantasy film based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic creation. The film is set decades before the events of the Peter Jackson-directed live-actionLord of the Ringstrilogy, which featured veteran actor Christopher Lee in the role of Saruman. Despite Lee’s passing, the animated film is expected to bring him back.
During a recent interview, the film’s producer confirmed that Lee’s voice was being recreated for the movie so that he could reprise the role of Saruman, one more time. However, the producer admitted that the film will not rely on Artificial Intelligence technology to revive the late actor. Here is how the newLord of the Ringsmovie brought back Christopher Lee as Saruman.
NewLord of the RingsMovie Producer Revealed How They Are Brining Back Christopher Lee As Saruman
ActorChristopher Leeis best known for playingthe role of Count Dookuin theStar Warsprequel trilogy. However, Lee delivered an equally impactful and memorable performance as Saruman in theLord of the RingsandHobbittrilogies directed by Peter Jackson.
Lee sadly passed away in June 2015 at the age of 93 due to heart failure. However, the actor is expected to have a post-humous presence in the upcoming animated filmThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, reprising the role of Saruman.
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During aninterview, producer Philippa Boyens explained how Lee’s voice would be recreated for the movie, turning down the use of AI to do so. Boyens revealed that the film relied upon archive audio recordings of the late actor to generate his lines. She said:
We went into his records. I got to go back and hear his voice not just doing the lines but talking to us as we were recording them.
Boyens added that the crew later found the right clip fromThe Hobbit, suggesting that Lee’s voice is only briefly used in the movie. Nonetheless, none of the post-humous lines will be created using AI. Boyens also described the recreation as an authentic Christoper Lee performance.
Fans React toLord of the Rings: War of the RohirrimBypassing the Use of AI
Following Boyens’ interview, the news of Lee’s voice being used for the upcoming film quickly spread on the internet. Fans of the fantasy franchise took to social media and shared their reactions to the crew bringing Lee back to reprise the role of Saruaman despite his demise.
Here is what fans had to say about Lee’s post-humous voice acting credit inThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimon X.
Using previous footage instead of using AI to replicate his voice »>
No AI! That’s great. Christopher Lee is a legend.
Using archival recordings instead of AI? Another proof of Lord of The Rings being the best franchise ever.They even respect their actors who passed away. Props to that.
I mean, I was going to watch it anyways, but this sold me.
Christopher Lee is a Legend but I’m not sure how I feel about doing stuff like this with deceased actors
As the tweets indicate, most fans are excited to see Lee reprise the role of Saruman, despite it only being in a voice capacity. Some fans also cited Lee’s return as one of the primary reasons they were excited to see the movie.
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Some fans felt that relying on the archive recordings instead of AI was more respectful to the late actor. As a result, fans praised the film’s producers for taking the archive recordings route. However, some fans remained skeptical about the approach and felt it was still unethical to use archive content of deceased actors for brief cameos.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimis expected to be released on August 07, 2025.
Pratik Handore
Content Writer
Articles Published :1774
With a keen interest in comic book movies and blockbuster franchises, Pratik usually covers news and updates on the DCU, MCU, Star Wars, and more.A die-hard fan of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Pratik spends most of his time exploring different storytelling mediums that invoke a sense of wonder and adventure. Other filmmakers whose works have deeply influenced him include Alfred Hitchcock, James Gunn, and Guillermo del Toro.
