While ‘Warcraft‘ didn’t do particularly well in North America it is killing the box office in China and now director Duncan Jones (‘Moon’) opens up about the film’s ending and a possible sequel. As we’re talking about the end of the film there is clearly going to be spoilers mentioned so if you want to turn back now would be the time.
Still with me? Well, first off we’re going to talk about the ending of the film. In the game, both Durotan and his wife Draka are killed by guards while Garona ends up killing King Llane while under mind control by Gul’dan. However, in the film we see Durotan sacrificing his own life in order to show that Gul’dan is corrupt and King Llane asks for Garona to kill him so that she can use her influence with the Orcs to work towards peace.
The motive here was that the leaders would both commit noble sacrifices and Jones explains it as:
In the games, those characters and their storylines are painted with pretty broad brush strokes. And I think when you’re making a movie, you have to work at a different level of fidelity. And you have to add a little more definition and three-dimensionality to who these characters are, why they do what they do, and what they’re thinking about when they’re not yet doing what they are going to do! And so I think films are different in that respect.
And for me, to engage an audience, both of fans but also people who are not fans, I need to make these characters that people are going to care about. If Durotan is going to go up against the Horde, if he’s going to go up against Gul’dan, why is he going to do that? Why is he going to out himself and his family and his wife and child in a position where they can be in danger? All of that has to be explained, and it has to come out of the mouths of characters who you believe would do these things.
Another change from gaming lore was that Stormwind falls but Jones explains that to have it taken by Orcs just wouldn’t have fit with the film as:
I kinda feel like we’d bitten so much off with what we were trying to achieve. We had to introduce all of these characters, introduce all of this world to people who may not know anything about it. I think the fact that they got the portal closed was enough. You know, whatever happens next will happen next. But that kind of felt like a pretty good chunk size. In two hours, we can get that done. Anything more, you’re kind of running into a convolution of epilogues and of story.
Yes he did say “whatever happens next” which he extrapolates on with saying why Thrall was the last image of ‘Warcraft’:
If we do have the chance to do more movies… to me, this story is about the Orcs losing their home. And Durotan trying to find a new one for his people. I would love, by the end of the trilogy, for us to know where the new Orc home is. And Thrall is obviously going to be massively important in that story.
If sales in China can keep up there might very well be a sequel and even a trilogy in the works and at the very least it is good to see Jones laying the groundwork to further installments if they are to happen. What else could we see if a sequel were to happen?
I would love to see Lich King. You know, I would love to see these other things. I would love to see someone else tell those stories so that I could watch them as a fan.
Now I think the Lich King would be an epic story point to cover but what are the chances we’ll actually see a follow-up? Obviously, box office sales across the globe will be the telling answer to that but for the cast and crew:
Chris Benson and I have discussed in very loose term what the trilogy will be. We all want to relax after this film. It took three-and-a-half years. And we’ll kind of get back into it if people like this film enough to warrant us having the chance to make a few more.
The interesting thing is going to be the emphasis we spend on specific characters that may not be the same emphasis that’s in the game. But again, that kind of gives us a little bit more flexibility and freedom to see things from perspective that follows the same lore, but sees it from a very different perspective than you saw it in the game.
Do you think that a follow up into the world of ‘Warcraft’ would be fitting or do you wish you had the couple hours you spent seeing the film back? Would the Lich King be your preferred next story arc to explore? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Collider.
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
