For fans of Tolkien’s unexplored lore concerning the kingdoms of men in The Lord of the Rings, the new anime film The War of the Rohirrim is a special treat. Unlike the live-action prequel series The Rings of Power, this story is much smaller and set in one general place in Middle-earth: the land of Rohan, and some of the surrounding regions to which it connects.

While full of several Easter eggs, including some appearances from ring-obsessed Orcs, and an eleventh-hour cameo from the late Christopher Lee as the wizard Saruman the White, the film is focused on its subject matter: how and why a war erupted between Rohan and the Dunlending men of the Westmarch.

If all of that sounds complicated and deep in the weeds of the appendices of Return of the King, don’t be intimidated. The film is refreshingly simple and as its stars, Gaia Wise and Laurence Ubong Williams, tell Inverse, designed to be enjoyed as a standalone adventure.

We caught up with these two cast members — Wise, who plays the central character Héra, and Williams, who plays her loyal cousin Fréaláf — to get a sense of what it was like to enter this era of Middle-earth history, how deep their fandom runs, and if after this film, they’re ready for more.

The opening level of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a divisive one for new players. For Indy nerds obsessed with the films, it’s pretty neat to slowly realize you’re smack dab in the middle of the series' most venerated scenes. On the other hand, though, opening the best Indiana Jones adventure in more than three decades with a set piece lifted from his past exploits creates early concern that the rest of the game might be fixated on reiterating the classics.

Jerk Gustafsson, game director of The Great Circle, expresses no regrets about it.

“It's the greatest movie opening of all time,” Gustafsson tells Inverse. “You can also argue that it's a bit of a slow start. But for me, it sets the pacing and tone of the game in a good way, especially since we have been so focused trying to re-imagine that 80s matinee adventure.”

Those who stick with the game through to its end will realize that there is more to this on-the-nose crowd-pleasing tutorial. There’s a deeper thematic through-line tying the scene to Indy’s character arc in The Great Circle. But he admits it’s also about the fan service.

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