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Christopher Lee Will Voice Saruman In ‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’

Echoes of a familiar voice will resound in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, a voice that once thundered across the mountains of Caradhras in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Sir Christopher Lee, the legendary actor who embodied the menacing Saruman the White, returns to voice the wizard in this animated epic.

Although Lee passed away in 2015, archival recordings will allow him to posthumously reprise his iconic role. During a recent interview with TheOneRing.net at New York Comic Con, The Lord of the Rings writer and Peter Jackson collaborator Philippa Boyens shared insights into this decision. She cited a letter from Lee and discussions with his late wife, Gitte Lee, as instrumental in this choice. Boyens expressed that using a sound-alike was considered but ultimately rejected in favor of authentic recordings from Lee himself.

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Boyens elaborated that the film would utilise unused takes from Lee’s work in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, particularly a line spoken to Galadriel during their encounter with the Necromancer at Dol Guldur (“Are you in need of assistance, my Lady?”). This creative choice ensures that Lee’s portrayal remains genuine, avoiding the need for imitation.

“[Kroencke] said the thing that I think that Peter [Jackson] felt in his heart, which was that actually Sir Christopher would’ve wanted this. So 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 him,” Boyens explained.

“We based it on a line from The Hobbit… and we thought, okay, that’s a line we can see how many takes he did of that. Can we use it? Can we find a new read on it and change it up a little bit? And our brilliant guys did that. But it is an authentic bit of Christoper Lee performance that it’s based on that line.”

“To be honest, we didn’t know if we could find [that line]. Just as a due diligence, we said ‘let’s see if there’s a cast-alike as someone who could do the voice out there.’ Now I know the internet is going to say, of course, there’s a million people out there who could’ve done Christopher Lee’s voice, but you know what? I don’t think so. I’m so glad we used his own voice.”

Saruman in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Saruman in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, set centuries before the events of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, will depict a younger Saruman, then a wise and benevolent wizard. The storyline promises to explore his complex character before his eventual corruption and alliance with Sauron.

The film is not just a continuation of beloved storylines but also a technical marvel, blending traditional storytelling with cutting-edge archival technology. This approach respects the legacy of the actors associated with the original films while introducing their characters to a new generation.

As studios explore generative AI and other technologies to maintain character continuity in films, The War of the Rohirrim sets an example by balancing innovation with authenticity. The film is scheduled for release on 13 December, and promises to bring the rich lore of Rohan and its heroic riders to the forefront in a tale of epic proportions.