6 Reasons Why the Warcraft Movie Could Be Awesome

It’s happening. In just another year and a half, we’re finally going to see Warcraft come to the big screen. World of Warcraft is arguably one of the most popular video games of all time, joining the ranks of such notable titles as Super Mario Bros., Halo, and Resident Evil. But despite its massive popularity, many people are pessimistic about the film, believing it will be a complete flop that will possibly taint the franchise. After all, it is very unlikely that a movie adaptation of a video game is ever enjoyable (see Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat). However, I think that Warcraft has the potential to be a critical and commercial hit for the following reasons.

 

6. There Is A Huge Following

To say that World of Warcraft doesn’t have a huge following is a downright lie. The company that helped create the game, Blizzard Entertainment, has such a huge band of supporters that it hosts its own convention known as Blizzcon, where people from all over the world come together dressed as their favorite WoW characters. Think about it: it’s not like your average comic-con where multiple fandoms come together in one convention. This is an event exclusively for one type of fandom. Blizzard literally has an army of fans ready for a Warcraft film. The company will do as much as it can to avoid disappointing these fans. The movie was announced back in 2006 and it’s not being released until 2016. They’re spending 10 years making sure it’s going to be good. Blizzard isn’t messing around. With such a huge following, they better not be.

5. It Has A Decent Director

Early on, Warcraft was going to be directed by Sam Raimi, whom you may recognize as the man responsible for the original Spider-Man trilogy as well as the Evil Dead movies. Personally, I thought this was a good choice, but due to a conflict of interests, Raimi was eventually replaced by a new director named Duncan Jones. Let’s start off Jones’s resume with the fact that he’s David Bowie‘s son, so you know he has some essence of talent in his blood. Don’t trust that? Look at the last two movies he’s directed: Moon and Source Code. Both of these movies received universal acclaim and won many awards, showing that Jones has what it takes to spearhead an awesome movie. Sure, it would’ve been cool to see Raimi’s spin since he has such an interesting perspective, but Jones definitely possesses the talent needed for such a large venture.

4. The Cast Is Awesome

Warcraft will not only have a great director, but also an amazing cast as well. Some of the faces joining the movie include Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Ben Foster (Contraband and Lone Survivor), Ruth Negga (Fury and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and Paula Patton (Precious and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol). Now, when you see the resumes of these actors, you may be wondering “well, they barely have any experience in the fantasy/action genre!” But it doesn’t matter. They have all done exceptional jobs in their respective films, and they can transfer that talent over to their performances in Warcraft. That’s what acting is about. You have to wear many hats in the industry, and you have to show that you can shine in the various roles. Also, it’s a good idea that they choose a relatively unknown cast for this movie. This allows us to further suspend reality and place each actor in his or her role. If they had cast someone like Mel Gibson or Elijah Wood, we’d be too busy seeing the actors rather than the characters. With this cast, we will not have to worry about that as much.

3. Blizzard Will Be Involved

Whenever there is an adaptation of a video game, comic, television show, or book, it has the potential to fall victim to deviating too much from the source material. Many movies benefit when the directors take creative liberties with the material and put their own spin on it. But there is a limit. In order for Warcraft to succeed, it has to be creative and original, but still hold onto its roots. The fact that Blizzard Entertainment is so involved in the production is a good thing. The company created the story from the ground up and wants to make sure that the movie is faithful to the origins. If Blizzard had completely sold the rights to a third property, then we would have a reason to be very afraid. For now, we can breathe easier knowing that the creative team of Blizzard is working hard to ensure that we get an outstanding movie.

2. We’ll See Both The Alliance and the Horde’s Perspectives

For the three people on Earth who have never heard of World of Warcraft and decided to read this article, the story takes place in a fantasy/medieval setting where humans co-exist with various other races like orcs and elves and the undead. The two main factions of the Warcraft universe are the Alliance, which consists of humans, elves, and similar folks, and the Horde, composed of orcs, goblins, and other barbaric creatures. As far as fans go, there is a pretty even division between factions, so naturally, the movie should cater to both sides. When Raimi was still part of the production, he was going to make the Alliance the heroes of the film with the Horde being the villains. Because of this, there would be significant cuts to the Horde’s screentime, which could anger a huge portion of the fanbase. Thankfully, under Jones’s leadership, there is going to be an even split with both sides, and fans will get to enjoy two different perspectives within the movie.

1. It’s Warcraft

There’s a good reason that World of Warcraft has such a huge following: it’s a fun and familiar concept. The fantasy genre really kicked it into high gear at the turn of the new millennium, which is when the whole story of Warcraft emerged. Can you remember what else became wildly popular around that time? The Lord of the Rings. This trilogy of movies dominated the box office and spurred people’s interests in high fantasy. WoW borrows heavily from the LOTR lore, and seeing as those movies were immensely popular, it’s reasonable to say that Warcraft will possibly see comparable success. The main difference is that LOTR is much more involved in non-action elements than Warcraft. While the books and films of The Lord of the Rings delved into various concepts and themes like friendship, loyalty, and love, Warcraft will most likely be two hours of orcs battling humans to the death. There will be enough character and plot development, sure, but the essence of Warcraft is its action, which will hopefully transcend to the big screen.

Warcraft is over a year and a half away, so there is still much to speculate on in the coming months. Hopefully we will get a trailer soon that will allow us to make a fair assessment as to whether the film will be excellent or not. Judging by the cast, the crew, and the source material, I think Warcraft is going to knock it out of the park.