Comic-Con: First Look At Duncan Jones’ Warcraft

For The Alliance! For The Horde!

While no one can deny the appeal of Guillermo Del Toro’s return to horror with Crimson Peak, there was an overriding reason why Hall H was standing-room only this afternoon and it was Duncan Jones’ Warcraft. Jones himself was on hand to introduce the presentation, telling fans a little bit about the context for the film.“There is an awful lot to draw on from Warcraft,” he said. “In this case I think it really merits an origin story. We want to show how the world of Azeroth falls into conflict between orcs and humans.”

The first teaser for the film made its debut, opening on an Alliance armoury, bristling with swords, pikes and lion-crested shields. “I’ve spent more time protecting my king than my own son,” says a voice. “Dos that make me loyal or a fool?” We cut to ranks of Alliance soldiers including Travis Fimmel seated on a throne. We cut away to the Orcs: Big, brawny, with big-ass axes, roaming the plains of Durotar. They’re mean-looking and savage, less caricatured than the orcs of World of Warcraft but not a million miles from the aesthetic seen in the game’s cinematic intro cutscenes. “I’ve lead thousands of warriors into battle,” says an Orc voice. “Does that make me a leader or a coward?” The footage then kicks into montage mode, cutting between men and orcs hoisting weapons. There’s a glimpse of the Dark Portal, hinting at the orcs’ previous home of Draenor. “Is war the only answer?” Cue battles, Fimmel in full Alliance armour riding a gryphon and crashing down into the fight then a soldier climbingg an orc’s back before plunging his blade into its chest. Warcraft!

It’s early days yet (the film only wrapped two months ago) but the footage looked fairly polished. Whether it’s close enough to what fans were expecting to allay the fears of the game’s nine million-odd subscribers is another matter. “We were trying to do the set-building and world-building that was done on Lord Of The Rings but also the technology of Avatar,” Explained Jones. “It was like making both films at once.” The film hits cinemas in March 2016.

from Empire News