The Warcraft film aimed to dive into the canonical lore of the World of Warcraft games and create a satisfying universe for fans and newcomers. Unfortunately, the film didn't seem to resonate with audiences and after receiving largely negative reviews and a worse than expected box office performance, it was swiftly left for dead. However, fans may remember that there was a huge amount of anticipation around Warcraft and it seems that it was supposed to be the start of a trilogy of films.
Video game films are undoubtedly difficult to make into successful films. Only in the last couple of years have film adaptations of Detective Pikachu and Sonic have seen cinematic success by learning from the mistakes of the many crossovers that preceded them. However, many felt that Warcraft had plenty of source material to create a compelling story, as well as a talented team behind it yet this did not help launch a cinematic franchise.
The director of Warcraft, Duncan Jones, has received acclaim for his work on Moon and Source Code appears to have outlined a story for a further two films. Before the release of the film the director had made his adoration for the World of Warcraft games clear and it seems that there were plenty of ideas of how to use the story of the first film to act as a platform for sequels. Responding to a tweet praising the original film, Jones detailed how he would have gone forward with the franchise. The sequel to the first film would follow Go’el/Thrall in a slave camp and detail where the character would find allies and a new home. This would be followed by a third film that would seemingly focus on a big battle that fulfills "Durotan’s promise to give his people a new home."
While it is clear that Jones has a clear understanding of the canon as well as a direction for the stalled franchise, these short descriptions do not give fans too much insight into the quality of the story that could be expected. After all, the tweets detail very linear and basic action rather than giving players insight into how these stories could be epic fantasy films. The director also tweeted that any sequels appear to be off the table, and fans will have to turn to the World of Warcraft games, which have frequent updates, for fresh material.
The Warcraft fandom was split on the film and while some may be disappointed that the film series was not made, others will be relieved that the franchise appears to have changed hands. It will be interesting to see if a cinematic version of the games appears again and if it would use the narrative framework chosen by Jones. With that said, there are plenty of other video games that fans would like to see as movies that may get a chance as a fresh cinematic universe.