It was two years ago that the Warcraft movie was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con. Two additional Comic-Con’s in the future and we’re still nearly a year away from the film’s release. However the director is not going to sit around and wait for 11 months for the film to come out, he’s already thinking about what may come next.
Speaking with i09, Duncan Jones (The Source Code), the director and co-writer of Warcraft, had some exciting comments for fans waiting patiently for the movie. It’s nearly done, it’s good, and he wants to make more.
Jones is so confident that Warcraft is going to be a great film that he’s interested in continuing with the franchise and working on one or possibly two sequels. He says that he and Chris Metzen, the head of franchise development for Blizzard and the man responsible for the story of the film, have an idea for a story that could be told over three films.
From his comments, however, it sounds like nothing is being greenlit at this point because Legendary Pictures wants to wait and see how the first film actually does before moving forward. Jones does seem legitimately excited for the future of the franchise. Having already committed so much of his time, yet being willing to jump back into it for two more movies, certainly says a lot about his dedication and enthusiasm.
Certainly the idea that sequels might happen is no great surprise. It’s actually more surprising, and a little comforting, that there are apparently no specific sequel plans already. These days it’s much more likely that multiple films are planned and then canceled if the first film doesn’t work out. Actually waiting to see if the movie is a success first is hardly standard operating procedure in Hollywood..
There’s one guy who doesn’t have to wait to find out if the movie is good and that’s the director himself. According to Jones, the film is actually very nearly done, with only a handful of VFX shots are left to complete. A number of people have apparently seen the nearly finished film and if they are to be believed, and the director says they are, the movie is going to be great. We really want to believe him. Up to this point the best cinematic adaptations of video games have qualified as "acceptable" at best. We’re still waiting for a great one, and maybe this is it. Certainly the costumes are looking good.
If Jones is right, then the sequels will almost certainly be on the way. With a finished film that’s going to sit in a can for most of the next year, the only question is will the producers actually be able to wait for the film’s release before moving forward with the series.
Warcraft hits theaters June 10, 2016
