# Why no "World of Warcraft" movie? There would seem to be a huge built in audience **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715 "2009-05-17T04:08:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/1 "2009-05-17T04:08:01Z")
Re [World of Warcraft](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Warcraft)why no movie? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/2 "2009-05-17T04:10:23Z")
One problem is that it’s a built-in audience who would always torrent a film rather than going to the cinema or waiting for it on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/3 "2009-05-17T04:27:55Z")
Because there’s nothing original or distinctive about WoW? ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/4 "2009-05-17T04:30:40Z")
There probably will be, eventually. It’ll also most likely be a direct-to-DVD animated film and suck as badly as the Dragonlance one did. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/5 "2009-05-17T05:32:56Z")
Lots of things. Canon and story, for instance. A part of the point of WoW is procedurally generated story. The film would either have to rehash known history or be breaking new ground. Considering the development time of a script and then turning it into a movie, Blizzard would necessarily be second-guessing themselves. Blizzard’s penchant for “releasing when it’s done” is another big point. Creative control in the hands of rich perfectionists is every producer’s worst nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/6 "2009-05-17T06:27:08Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Because there’s nothing original or distinctive about WoW? When has that ever stopped anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Reverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@Reverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverse)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/7 "2009-05-17T06:36:42Z")
They are actually planning a Warcraft movie. Legendary Pictures (the good people who made 300 among other fine movies) currently have the rights for it. Rumor has it that the story is set during the five year period between Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/8 "2009-05-17T06:41:22Z")
Blizzard and Legendary Pictures (studio behind 300 and a host of other licensed action films) announced a WoW movie deal at Blizzcon 2007, scheduled for 2009, but it seems to have not progressed beyond concept art and such. So, it looks like the movie rights are being held by a company that isn’t actively developing it. Who knows, we might see a quickie done before the rights expire, or Legendary might cede the rights to another studio, but overall it looks like nothing’s going to happen. (Looks like I typed this up at the same time as **Reverse** , who’s definitely quicker with a keyboard! 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/9 "2009-05-17T07:14:31Z")
I might watch a _documentary_ about how to play the damn game (still doin’it solo, by the seat of my pants)! But a movie might just confuse this old man even more! 🙂 Q ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/10 "2009-05-17T08:16:17Z")
In any case, thankfully Uwe Boll has been flatly denied the rights to make it. [Especially not him](http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/04/18/uwe-boll-wont-ever-be-entering-the-world-of-warcraft/). ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/11 "2009-05-17T15:11:06Z")
Also, the built in audience would never go see it because it is showing on a raid night. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/12 "2009-05-17T19:25:54Z")
Because it would probably be as awful as the Dungeons and Dragons movie was. ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/13 "2009-05-17T20:04:06Z")
I’m betting the movie will look something like [The World of World of Warcraft](http://www.theonion.com/content/video/warcraft_sequel_lets_gamers_play). ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/14 "2009-05-17T22:24:09Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > In any case, thankfully Uwe Boll has been flatly denied the rights to make it. [Especially not him](http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/04/18/uwe-boll-wont-ever-be-entering-the-world-of-warcraft/). > [@Uwe Boll](#): > > “And to be honest, the real gamers are the typical download guys, right? They don’t pay anything for movies, because they illegally download the movies. So why I should please these guys? I need the normal audience.” What an _ass_. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/15 "2009-05-17T22:27:34Z")
But seriously - there’s no story, no characters, and the world is a non-descript Tolkien clone. That’s all fine for a game, but where’s the movie? ---
**Author:** ![Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Words_on_the_Interweb)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/16 "2009-05-17T23:12:26Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > But seriously - there’s no story, no characters, and the world is a non-descript Tolkien clone. That’s all fine for a game, but where’s the movie? There’s a lot more story than WoW makes apparent; I think the prior warcraft games had a lot more storyline and character development, and there have been several books printed about major game events and characters. The problem I see with it is Blizzard isn’t really all that consistent with their lore… when their first expansion came out, the lore for the new Draenei race was a retcon of the origin of the major antagonist (Sargeras and the Burning Legion). As I recall, the lead art designer ultimately admitted to forgetting the original lore when they came up with the expansion lore. How can a screenplay be written when the storyteller can’t even keep track of what happened when and to whom? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/17 "2009-05-17T23:18:18Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > But seriously - there’s no story, no characters, and the world is a non-descript Tolkien clone. That’s all fine for a game, but where’s the movie? Soooo…you haven’t actually played the game, then. I’ve heard complaints about the designing team rewriting the background lore to suit the new expansions, and that the story itself is weak, but there is undeniably a story, as well as notable NPCs. Hell, look at the entry on [Arthas](http://www.wowwiki.com/Arthas_Menethil), the central character of Warcraft 3 and a key figure in WoW. And that’s just one guy. There’s also the rise of Thrall and his cooperation with Jaina Proudmoore, Malfurion Stormrage and his brother Illidan, the flight of the draenei from Draenor, the return of the missing king Varian Wrynn… There’s a _lot_ of backstory in the game that players never actually get to witness firsthand and would slaver over if it became a movie. Hell, just make the movie around Arthas going mad and becoming the Lich King, something that is a central focus in WC3 and WoW and you hear about over and over again, and the movie would still be highly profitable. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/18 "2009-05-18T00:48:24Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > But seriously - there’s no story, no characters, and the world is a non-descript Tolkien clone. That’s all fine for a game, but where’s the movie? Are you completely unfamiliar with Hollywood? ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/19 "2009-05-18T01:27:42Z")
> [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](#): > > How can a screenplay be written when the storyteller can’t even keep track of what happened when and to whom? Ummm… exactly how many times have DC and Marvel comics reset / restarted / retconned / otherwise screwed with Superman et al, and yet: no shortage of superhero movies. Having a screenplay that disagrees with previous canon: No problem. (Pretty much Hollywood SOP really). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Words_on_the_Interweb)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715/20 "2009-05-18T02:12:21Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Having a screenplay that disagrees with previous canon: No problem. (Pretty much Hollywood SOP really). 😃 Eh, well, I’m one of those people who’s still annoyed about elves at Helm’s Deep, so I suppose my perspective on it is skewed. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-world-of-warcraft-movie-there-would-seem-to-be-a-huge-built-in-audience/496715.md?page=2)