Warcraft Movie Panel: What We Learned

by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

The Warcraft movie will focus on the characters of Lothar and Durotan, and will be primarily be a first contact origins story taking place in the Eastern Kingdoms, the Warcraft movie panel revealed. The film will aim for a gritty Gladiator aesthetic, and while they will aim for a PG13 rating, they believe they will be able to push the envelope a little bit in the same way the Batman movies did. There were no more details revealed on cast, but there will be at least one major female character.

The panel included director Duncan Jones, Chris Metzen, Bill Westenhofer, Nick Carpenter and Rob Pardo.

General

• Movie still two years away from release
• Movie needs to be about both sides, and heroes on both sides
• Balance between Alliance and Horde integral to what a Warcraft movie needs to be
• Audience needed to understand about the orc heroes as well as humans
• Really emphasize that the people behind the movie are real Warcraft fans
• Characters will be live action with CGI
• Complex endeavor for team, Avatar meets Game of Thrones
• Actors will be used for orcs, and make them as real as possible

Lore and Storyline

• Difficult decision choosing which part of the lore to focus on
• Story went back and forth between all the different races
• Searched for broadest touchpoint that everybody would get

Locations

• Draenor
• Dalaran
• Ironforge
• Stormwind
• Lion’s Pride Inn

Characters

• Orcs won’t just be monsters
• Costumes being created even though will be CGI in the end

Environment

• Recognizable but will look more real
• Detail level down to bark on trees
• Easter eggs will be abundant

Collaboration

• Director and Blizzard looking in same direction
• Art and effects also had instant synergy

Characters

• Lothar
• Durotan

Q&A

• Duncan sneakily hinted film may tie in with Warlords of Draenor and possibly be filmed in Vancouver
• Aesthetic compared with Gladiator
• Music will be true to the spirit of Warcraft
• Costumes will be true to Blizzard armor style but will balance with believability
• No plans for art books at present
• Cast is worked out, no reveals
• If the film is a success, there would be a good chance for sequels
• Eastern Kingdoms will be a major focus
• Movie will have strong female lead roles
• Preview will be sometime next year, possibly BlizzCon panel
• Scope open for a TV show
• Possibility for 3D
• Orcish language being expanded upon for depth
• Movie aiming for PG13 but hope to push boundaries eg. Batman films