An anime prequel to 'The Lord of the Rings' is in development.

New Line Cinema are partnering with Warner Bros. animation on the new feature 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.'

The stand-alone movie will tell the story of the bloody saga behind Helm's Deep, the fortress depicted in the middle part of the trilogy 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' and the man who it is named after, Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan whose reign was overshadowed by war.

Experienced anime director Kenji Kamiyama will direct the movie from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. Joseph Chou is producing the flick.

Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are not thought to be involved in the movie but things could change as the project develops.

The project is intended to be connected to Jackson's six Middle Earth films based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien but is not related to Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings' series that is currently being filmed in New Zealand.

Carolyn Blackwood, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chief operating officer and Richard Brener, New Line Cinema president and chief operating officer, said in a statement: "All of us at New Line feel a deep affinity for the extraordinary world J.R.R Tolkien created, so the opportunity to dive back into Middle Earth with the team at Warner Bros. Animation is a dream come true.

"Fans know Helm's Deep as the stage for one of the greatest battles ever put to film and, with many of the same creative visionaries involved and the brilliant Kenji Kamiyama at the helm, we couldn't be more excited to deliver a fresh vision of its history that will invite global audiences to experience the rich, complex saga of Middle Earth in a thrilling new way."