Who is Éowyn, and why is she in War of the Rohirrim? Éowyn is a fan-favourite character, as well as being one of the most significant women in Middle-earth. She is introduced in the second Lord of the Rings movie, and goes on to play an important role in the third, too.
In the fantasy movies, Éowyn is played by Miranda Otto. However, we also know that Éowyn will be making a return to screens in the new Lord of the Rings movie, Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim.
So, before the War of the Rohirrim release date rolls around you’ll probably want a refresher on the Lord of the Rings character. Who is Éowyn, the shieldmaiden of Rohan, and what will her role be in the anime movie?
Is Éowyn in War of the Rohirrim?
Éowyn will be in the new Lord of the Rings movie, Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim. However, the new anime movie is set several hundred years before the events of the War of the Ring and the destruction of Sauron‘s One Ring. So how is this possible?
Rather than being a character in the story of the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie itself, Éowyn will act as the narrator of the tale. This means that she will be telling the story of Freca‘s death, and Wulf the Dunlending‘s subsequent attack on Rohan after being denied marraige to Hèra. She will explain how this attack from Dunland forces Helm Hammerhand to retreat to Helm’s Deep, Fréaláf Hildeson‘s counter-attack, and the other epic events that take place throughout the tale.
Who plays Éowyn in War of the Rohirrim?
Miranda Otto will reprise the role, providing her voice to the character she played two decades ago. What we don’t know yet is at what stage in Éowyn’s life she is narrating the story. It could be before the events of the Lord of the Rings when she is a shieldmaiden of Rohan, or after while she’s married to Faramir and has children.
Éowyn in Lord of the Rings
Éowyn was first introduced as a Lord of the Rings character by Tolkien in The Two Towers. She is the niece of King Théoden of Rohan, sister to Éomer, and the daughter of Éomund and Théodwyn. Her parents died in her childhood, after Éomund was killed by Orcs in battle, whereupon she was taken in and adopted by King Théoden.
Éowyn looked after King Théoden after he began to weaken and fall into ill health thanks to the dark magic and influence of the wizard Saruman and his agent Grima Wormtongue. Once Théoden’s health and clarity of mind was restored by Gandalf, Théoden appointed Éowyn as the leader of the people of Rohan while he defended Rohan against the assault from Isengard. Éowyn then led the people of Rohan’s capital, Edoras, to Helm’s Deep, where she took them to the underground Glittering Caves as the battle raged overhead.
When Théoden and Éomer made the decision to come to the aid of Gondor at the Battle of Pelennor Fields, Éowyn asked that she was able to come and fight alongside them. Her request was denied by King Théoden, who instead told her that she needed to stay with the people of Rohan. Éowyn ignored her uncle’s decision, and disguised herself as a male warrior called Dernhelm.
She rode with the rest of the Rohirrim to help Gondor in the battle against Mordor, and took the hobbit Merry with her because he also wanted to fight.During the Battle of Pelennor Fields, King Théoden was attacked and mortally wounded by the Witch-King of Angmar, the leader of the Nazgûl. Éowyn was the only Rohirrim warrior who did not flee from the Ringwraith, and when the Witch-King told her that no man could kill him.
In response, she declared that “No living man am I! You look upon a woman! Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter” and she was able to kill the Witch-King and his Fellbeast.
However, during the fight the Witch-King was able to break Éowyn’s arm and inflicted serious wounds upon her. She lay hurt on the battlefield, until she was eventually taken to the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith. She becomes the sister of the new King of Rohan after King Théoden dies, and her brother Éomer is made the new king.
Does Éowyn marry Faramir?
At the end of Lord of the Rings, Éowyn and Faramir marry. They meet each other and fall in love while they are both recovering from their wounds after the assault on Minas Tirith, in the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
As the sister of the new King of Rohan, the marriage between Éowyn and Faramir forges new and strong connections between the two regions of Rohan and Gondor. The two have a child named Elboron, and live in Ithilien when the land is granted to Faramir by Aragorn, the new King of Gondor.
For more on Middle-earth, check out our guides to Celebrimbor, Sauron, Elrond, Galadriel, and Durin. Or, take a look at our explained on Rings of Power season 2 release date.