On June 10, 2016, the long-anticipated World of Warcraft Movie was finally released to cinemas worldwide. Like many fans across the world, who grew up playing the Warcraft franchise, we rushed to our nearest movie theater.
However, like to many long-standing fans, the movie felt rushed, lacking and if that was not enough, to our horror, we discovered that movie is not true to the lore.
Despite all that, we could not find it in our hearts to really hate the movie (loyal fans that we are) and we even ended up wishing to see a sequel which will turn the beloved video game franchise into a series of films, similar to the MCU universe.
Is there going to be a Warcraft movie sequel?
If you search online right now, you will find several articles that claim that a potential sequel is in the works as we speak. The websites that claim that a sequel is being made are basing this claim on an alleged statement made by Daniel Ritchman. We managed to find no proof that such claims were ever made by Daniel. We did however manage to find some interesting tweets which were made by Duncan Jones, Warcrafts director.
On June 21, 2020, Duncan Tweeted on his private tweeter account What he planned for the World of Warcraft movies franchise. Such tweets, as sad as it is, can only mean that there is no sequel in the making.
What the World of Warcraft movie series would have been about?
In his tweets, Duncan explains that he initially planned for the plot to spam across three films. We all remember how the first World of Warcraft movie has ended. For those of you who already forgot,
—SPOLIER ALERT —
The portal to Draenor was sealed. Durotan was slain by the warlock Gul’dan. Anduin Lothar defeated Blackhand Mak’gora and baby Go’el (Thrall) was found by the humans.
Part two was supposed to be about young Thrall, as a slave in blackmoore’s gladiator camp, befriending a Tauren who reveals to him that there is a land to the west where he might be able to find allies and maybe a permanent home for him and his fellow orcs.
Part three would have been about Thrall freeing the orcs and traveling to Kalimdor to establish the city of Orgrimmar. Basically, the entire plot was supposed to be about fulfilling Durotan’s promise to give the orcs a new home.
When asked whether a sequel to his vision of Warcraft can ever be resurrected, Jones replied: “I have no idea,” Jones said, “and no one I worked with on the film even works at Blizzard anymore.”
three, the gathering horde army and freeing of orcs around the Eastern kingdom before a dangerous trip across the sea to Kalimdor, & the founding of the 1st Azerothian city of Orgrimmar.
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) June 21, 2020
Basically the trilogy was the fulfilling of Durotan’s promise to give his people a new home.
I have no idea, and no one i worked with on the film even works at Blizzard anymore.
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) June 21, 2020
Potential Warcraft characters in Warcraft movie 2 and 3
At this point, we can only speculate what other interesting characters we might have encountered in Duncan Jones adaptation of the video game. The plot of the first movie did divert, albeit not drastically, from the established lore.
It is known that Duncan planned to eventually pass the rains to someone with better knowledge of the lore. We doubt that Jones adaptation would have covered the fall of Arthas, but if the founding of Orgrimmar was supposed to be the climax of the series, it is very probable that we would have seen the Battle of Mount Hyjal and characters like:
- Jaina Proudmoore
- Tyrande Whisperwind
- Illidan Stormrage
- Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage
- Grom Hellscream
- Archimonde
And many others since they all play key roles in the final battle.
If a sequel is not in the making, what's next?
The Warcraft universe is big and ever-changing. The team in Blizzard is constantly busy expanding the Warcraft universe and, unless you have been living under a rock, World of Warcraft Shadowlands just hit the shelves.
This expansion will focus on the heroes of Azeroth venturing into the land of the dead, where they are likely to meet many fallen characters such as Arthas Menethil, Uther Lightbringer, and many others.
So, while we do not have any movies related to the warcraft universe to watch, we do have the games to keep us entertained and explore its vast universe.
If you are new to the Warcraft Universe, and the World of Warcraft Movie left you wanting, you can always play the Warcraft games and explore the story for yourself.
Here is the order how you should play them:
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans – The first game in the franchise and what single handedly started the entire thing. A word of caution – the game was launched in 1994, so its very outdated. But if you can stomach its old graphics it is worth it. Plot wise it depicts the same events as the first World of Warcraft Movie
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness – The second game in the series and what launched the franchise into greatness
Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal – This is an expansion to the second game, well worth the trip. Some of the characters you meet here, you encounter much later in World of Warcraft.
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos – This game is what brought the franchise into the 3D era and is regarded as one of the best strategy games ever made, a title it well deserves.
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne – The expansion to Reign of Chaos. The story picks up after the events of the base game. It depicts, among other things, the ascension of Arthas Menethil to the Frozen Throne and becoming the Lich king, one of the saddest and Shakespearick events in gaming history.
World of Warcraft – This is where the series took an entirely different turn and shifted from Strategy into the MMO genera. This game is massive and will keep you entertained for a lot of time. It had 8 expansions over the years:
- The Burning Crusade – The champions of Azeroth venture into the torn world of Draenor to face Illidan Stormrage
- Wrath of the Lich King – The champions of Azeroth face Arthas Menethil, now the lich king, and put an end to his reign of terror, concluding the Arthas Menethil storyline.
- Cataclysm – Azeroth is thrown into chaos by Deathwing, one of the five dragon aspects.
- Mists of Pandaria – Violence erupts between the Horde and the Alliance once again thanks to the obliteration of Theramore by Garrosh, now the warchief of the Horde. Amidst the chaos, a new land called Pandaria is discovered along with its noble inhabitants, the Pandaren.
- Warlords of Draenor – Following the events of Mists of Pandaria, Garrosh, who is tried for war crimes, manages to escape and travel back in time to Draenor, as it is depicted in the second game, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, to change the past and alter the timeline.
- Legion – The Burning Legion invades Azeroth once again, the champions of Azeroth must band together and stop this threat.
- Battle of Azeroth – In this expansion Sylvanas Windrunner, the warchief of the horde, attempts to monopolize Azerite, a substance which was released into the world by now the now-imprisoned Sargeras, by plunging his sword into the planet Azeroth and wounding the titan inside.
- Shadowlands – the latest expansion in the world of the Warcraft universe, and as we stated previously, focuses on the champions of Azeroth venturing into the realm of death.
All the games are directly connected to one another and will keep you busy and exploring for some time.
Conclusion
While we might not receive a World of Warcraft Movie in the foreseeable future, thankfully we do have the games to keep us entertained for hours.
If you are interested in playing any of the Warcraft games, simply head to the Activision Blizzard website and purchase them for yourself. The strategy games are a one-time purchase, while World of Warcraft will require you to buy the base game and pay a monthly fee of approximately 15USD. But it is well worth the trip and will keep you busy for some time.
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