Warcraft: Origin was a film directed by Duncan Jones and released in the year 2016. It aimed to be a trilogy, and dared to adapt one of the greatest successes in the history of video games to the big screen. The most successful online role-playing game thus joined other video games that managed to make their leap to the cinema, as was the case with Tomb Raider or Resident Evil. What happened? Is the project frozen or will it go ahead at some point? In this post we will talk about this film and the trilogy that we were promised, but that never materialized, despite the fact that there is more and more news that there will be a new installment very soon.
What is Warcraft: Origin?
Warcraft: Origin It is the first film of a hypothetical trilogy that was going to be released about the fantastic universe of the Blizzard game.
The film tells the story that takes place in the peaceful orc kingdom of Azeroth, a territory that is invaded by warrior orcs. The seconds have seen how their world has begun to be destroyed by a force called Vile. With the help of an orc sorcerer named Gul'dan, they manage to unite all the clans of Draenor and create a portal to the world of Azeroth.
Landing on Azeroth, the orcs of Draenor lay waste to its villages and slaughter many of its inhabitants. To avoid an unprecedented confrontation, a hero from each side decides to fight for his family.
why did it fail Warcraft: Origin?
The first Warcraft movie was produced by Legendary Pictures, Atlas Entertainment and Blizzard itself. It cost 160 million dollars, and, despite the fact that it was said to be a failure on the Internet, the truth is that raised 439 million dollars total. Warcraft: Origin was the highest grossing production of a video game to the cinema as of 2016. It even surpassed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. However, at the end of the post you will understand why it was seen as a failure, and why now it seems that the project is going to be resumed. But let's not anticipate events.
Although the numbers did work out in the long run, the movie didn't pan out quite as well. A film of this type has the difficult mission of uniting two public very different: those who are absolute fans of the video game and those who don't know anything about the saga. Unfortunately, Warcraft: Origin it did not satisfy either of these two parties, especially the American public, which is what is usually taken into account when measuring the success of a franchise. The film received generally unfavorable reviews. On websites such as Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic, the feature film did not reach approval by specialized critics. However, on IMDb, the film has a 6,7 out of 10, which makes us think that the film is not as bad as many people make it out to be.
According to some critics, the failure of this production is really in the very script, which was the work of Charles Leavitt and director Duncan Jones himself. According to what they say, they sinned by making a too faithful adaptation to the video game. This phenomenon comes to produce the opposite effect to the desired one, since some people consider that the work looks ridiculous.
However, the reviews on IMDb give quite relevant information. Most likely, the premiere of Warcraft: Origin was completely dominated by expectations. Many expected to see a work of the stature of The Lord of the Rings in the cinema, and, evidently, the Warcraft movie fell far short of those standards. Whether or not this is the reason for its failure, the truth is that professional critics from all over the world destroyed the film with a blow of a blow.
What movies were going to make up the trilogy?
These are them movies in order that they were going to be part of the project.
Warcraft 2
Although it never came to have a title, Duncan Jones himself has always referred to this hypothetical film by this name. Warcraft 2 could have been the second part and its story would revolve, according to the director's words, around Go'el. This is a young orc slave trapped in a Blackmoore gladiator camp.
This second part goes against the story of this character, his release and his journey in search of his people. An adventure in search of a different life, although with many interruptions in its objective. For many Warcraft fans, this arc, also known as thrall, would have excited the fans of the video game, as it is one of the most brilliant stories in the entire saga.
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Warcraft 3
Duncan Jones was so sure that his project would be a success that he dropped a lot of details about its sequel. For that reason, we know those details about that second movie that never made it to production.
The third installment would put end to the trilogy, and would have narrated the release of the orcs. This story would tell of the exodus of this civilization across the ocean to Kalimdor, where they would found the city of Orgrimmar. The trilogy, therefore, would have narrated the complete story of how the orcs lose their native home and the entire process they undergo until they can inaugurate a new home, safe and without the threat of new invaders.
Will Warcraft return to theaters at some point?
For years, all seemed lost. Duncan Jones was singled out as the bad guy in the movie, and the cause of a resounding failure. And it is that, originally, Warcraft: Origin yes it was a failure. In the United States, the film grossed only $48 million, a pittance that was offset when the film was released in theaters around the world.
As of the year 2019, the film industry began to see the potential of China when it comes to making their productions profitable. Any production already raises more money in the Asian giant than in its native country. This reason is more than enough for Legendary Pictures has given the green light to resume the project.
For now, we do not know anything about this new film, although the news broke at the beginning of the year 2021. Duncan Jones himself has offered to direct this new installment, and it is possible that production is being worked on at this point.
WArcraft: The Origin It doesn't just narrate the conflict between two orc civilizations. It also narrates the confrontation between critics and viewers. While professionals think that the feature film is unstoppable, Netflix data reveals that the film is well received by the general public. Therefore, if you have not seen this film yet, we invite you to take a look at it and draw your own conclusions, because here, nobody agrees on whether we are dealing with a good or bad film.