Telling a condensed version of the World of Warcraft backstory originally depicted in Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, director Duncan Jones outlined a trilogy involving Thrall’s origin story and leading his people to Kalimdor, though mixed reviews and poor performance at the box office sorely hurt those prospects.
Praised for its art and visual effects, but criticized over rough dialogue and a narrative that was difficult to follow for viewers who were not already familiar with the story, the ambitious movie still failed to break even, despite becoming the highest-grossing film based on a video game and the first video game film to cross $400 million in ticket sales globally.
Sequels and Storylines
Though it may not have been a blockbuster success in the theaters, the movie has continued to retain a strong audience on streaming services, with fans continually holding out hope for a sequel or alternative story follow-up. While The Beginning was intended to be the start of a trilogy focusing on the orcs search for a new home, fan art of Henry Cavil as Prince Arthas gained immense popularity for covering the human story of Warcraft III instead.
Although another Warcraft movie isn’t completely outside the realm of possibility, it is unlikely at this stage. In an interview last April, former Warcraft Franchise General Manager John Hight discussed the hurdles of finding the right partner:
“certainly be interesting…We make games and I think that games will always be our core, and so Warcraft will be centered around that. I don’t want to fall into the trap of ‘I will be a filmmaker now.’ I think leave that to the folks that really know what they’re doing. If we can find talent in other areas doing media that have that shared love and passion for Warcraft, absolutely. But I think I’ve seen, unfortunately, some of my colleagues get enamored with the idea of becoming filmmakers and leveraging the opportunity that they have in owning the IP or controlling the IP to be an entry into filmmaking. But there are so many professionals who have been doing this for so many years, there could be dozens if not a hundred films that can execute so much better. I wouldn’t have somebody that only made movies come in and try and build a game like Warcraft, right? So I think finding those partnerships is the right approach.”
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