The Sequel to the Warcraft Movie May Never Happen, But What If...?

Community General Discussion
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Picture a Warcraft anime movie series, where each book in the iconic Warcraft saga is adapted into its own epic, mature, and gritty animated film. This series would stay true to the rich lore of Warcraft, but with a bold, cinematic anime style inspired by classics like Berserk, Vampire Hunter D, Akira, and Hellsing. It’s a high-stakes, action-packed journey through Azeroth, brought to life with the intensity and emotional depth that fans have always craved.

Each movie would adapt one of the Warcraft novels in chronological order, starting with Rise of the Horde, followed by the brutal events of Tides of Darkness, Beyond the Dark Portal, the War of the Ancients trilogy, and beyond. The saga would explore iconic characters like Thrall, Jaina, Arthas, and Illidan, allowing them to showcase their personal struggles, triumphs, and tragedies, all portrayed in gritty, mature animation that channels the raw intensity and moral complexity of the source material.

Visually, the series would capture the brutal beauty of Azeroth—dynamic battles, magical duels, and deep character moments—rendered in a sharp, mature anime style that mirrors the visual storytelling found in legendary anime. With a focus on intense action, complex characters, and the heavy costs of war and leadership, this anime would delve into a world where the lines between hero and villain blur, and every choice has consequences.

This isn’t just another fantasy series—it’s a bold opportunity to bring the Warcraft universe to life in a way fans have never seen before. Each film would offer a cinematic take on the world, staying true to the epic scale and emotional depth of Warcraft, while embracing the mature, gritty tone that has defined some of the greatest anime of all time.

The Warcraft anime movie series is the perfect way to continue the saga beyond the single movie that was released, offering fans a new, visceral way to experience the world they love. With epic storytelling, stunning visuals, and a mature, gritty anime style, what are your thoughts on this topic? Could this be the Warcraft adaptation fans have been waiting for?

Edit:
The only reason I’m posting this is because I’ve recently come back to the game, and I’ve really enjoyed the cinematic moments I’ve come across. Blizzard has done an amazing job with them, especially when it comes to storytelling through visuals. Honestly, it got me thinking—if Blizzard ever explored a Warcraft anime movie series like the one I described, it could be incredible. An anime adaptation could take it even further, offering fans a chance to experience the story in a new and deeper way. Just something I’ve been daydreaming about while diving back into Azeroth!

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Let the Castlevania/DMC anime director at it. Would probably be good.

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What we will probably see in the near future is AI generated “Indie on steroids”. People are already putting out short recap stories that appear to be AI generated. No doubt the “fan fiction” of the future will involve stores that grow becoming bigger and better written as time goes by.

The “canon = reality” people will be going ballistic which will be super fun to see.

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Warcraft anime? Jaina would have to wear a different sailor outfit.

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I think an animated series akin to Edgerunners or Arcane would be a better format. There’s 20+ years of Warcraft story telling that a ton of stuff would need to be cut to fit into 2 hour long movies. Each season can have as many episode needed to tell the whole story of a character or group or event. A 12 episode season about the First War, or a 15 episode series about the founding of Thrall’s New Horde and the construction of Orgrimmar, or even a short 8 - 10 episode season of Velen recounting what pre-corrupted Argus looked like.

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She’s already been in a Manga, it’ll be fine.

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If it was made 20 years ago, yes. But now? Guarantees virtue signal political allegory message slop.

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And you completely lost me here.

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If they just made a sequel with the whole story of Arthas, they’d be golden.

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Maybe at least to grab peoples interest

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I think Warcraft would translate pretty well to an anime format. Ideally though I’d like to see it as a pretty typical animated series, like Invincible or something.

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WoW is all about us, about how we play the game, bringing a new character into the world, levelling up through adventures and experiences, travelling the world and so on. If I wanted anything in a new movie (or preferably series), it would be that - not the main NPCs being the central focus, but the story of a single Orc or Human or Dwarf etc and their interaction with WoW’s story. The central observer, as we are, to what goes on around us.

So if you want to, say, tell Arthas’ story, have it told from viewpoint of a single character who becomes involved in that story and see it all externally. Who goes through the joys and horrors and adventures that the story entails.

That, to me, would be an engaging series.

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Maybe if the Edgerunner people made it it would be good. Those guys have guts. They told people who complained about one of their character’s design to take a hike.

But given the state of WoW’s lore, I think they would be better off ignoring most of it and just do a slice of life comedy in the WoW setting. Worst case, it would be an isekai.

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A lazy way to do that would be to just make a isekai.

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Claymation Wrath of the Lich King.

You know it, I know it.

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Have no idea what that is and too lazy to google.

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People from modern world transported into a past world with magic or other

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I Google AI it for you,

Isekai is a genre of fiction where a person is transported to and has to survive in a different world.

Not a new concept or even Japanese in origin - plenty of Western examples, Labyrinth and The Neverending Story in the 80s, and Alice through the Looking Glass / in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz if you want to go way back.

It’s just that anime has been leaning way too much on this trope the last decade or so - kind of like Hollywood’s obsession with Superhero movies.

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id almost prefer just buying a graphic novel. i fell out of love for all anime some time ago.

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i kinda disagree.

it would be great for existing fans who already know the story and the characters, but the pacing would be awful for newcomers who don’t know who Arthas is or have a very vague idea.

Warcraft 3 focused his story across multiple chapters, so telling his story in a way that can revitalize what made it special would require multiple movies, or multiple seasons if it were to become an actual series.

telling his story across a singular movie, or some anime offshoot, would most likely bore me to tears but im old and bitter