The Warcraft movie had a lackluster opening in North America, however, overseas the film has been setting records. This means that a sequel is much more likely than we would have otherwise thought. We've seen situations before where the Chinese box office has turned lackluster films into successes, but this may be the very first time that foreign success has made a film that would have otherwise bombed a bona-fide hit.
We know that Duncan Jones is interested in making another Warcraft movie, and with the money that the movie made in China, we're sure that Universal is also interested. Rather than simply making a sequel for the sake of the box office, here are the ways they can make Warcraft 2 a better movie overall:
Have A Main Character
One of the problems that Warcraft had was that the film lacked focus. Not having a dedicated lead is ok, if you have an ensemble cast working together. However, Warcraft has so much going on in so many places that the structure doesn't work as an ensemble, either. If Lothar is our story's hero, that's fine, but then focus on telling the story from his perspective. We know that Warcraft is steeped in lore, but the audience only needs to know the parts that are vital to the story being told. Pick a perspective, and stick with it.
Include Other Races
The Warcraft movie is primarily based on the first game created by Blizzard, subtitled Orcs vs. Humans. However, the movie still teased us a wide variety of races that we never really met. If the world is full of dwarves, elves, and gnomes, then let us meet them, because they might be more interesting than the humans. The world of Azeroth is vast, but it didn't really feel like it in this first movie. We know the races become more important in the future games, so let's make sure that carries through to the film.
Increase The Naval And Air Combat
One of the things that Warcraft II added to the game series was combat, both in the air and on water. Since the movie was based on the first game, it chose to limit its action sequences to the sort of thing we might have seen in the first game. The film had beautiful flying mounts, and some action scenes in the air with them could be amazing. Likewise, some seafaring adventures would not be out of place. The highpoint of Warcraft was the digital effects and motion capture work that ILM did for the film. Let's see what they can do to take it to the next level.
Let's Get To The Burning Legion
In the opening voiceover of the Warcraft movie, it is already intimated that there is an outside influence pulling the strings in the battle between the orcs and humans. This external force, known as the Burning Legion, needs to be brought to the forefront soon. Warcraft ended with a brewing war between two sides, both of whom are mostly sympathetic, as we know they don't really want to fight. Even those who only saw the movie know the fight between orcs and humans is not what this story is about, so show us the real enemy and let's get to battling it. Another movie about people being manipulated will get very old, very fast.
Make Better Use Of Go'el
While Warcraft did a remarkable job of making the mostly digital orcs relatable, the characters that we got came from a culture that was very alien. Go'el the son of Durotan was introduced in the first film as an infant, and while he's an orc, he will grow up among humans, making him more relatable than his father. At one point, Go'el was meant to be the focus of a scrapped Blizzard game, called Warcraft Adventures. How about we dust off some of that material as a way to get to know this character a little better?
Lean On The Story Of Arthas
Because the first Warcraft movie gave us an ending that was less-than-subtle about a future installment, we wouldn't expect Warcraft 2 to be any different. The story arc of Arthas, the crown prince of Lordaeron, is one of the most popular that the game series has to date. He deserves his own film, and while that film probably won't be Warcraft 2, the movie could still introduce him, as a setup for a potential third film. We don't have to leave Warcraft 2 with the half ending that the first one gave us, just drop the character in. Fans will understand, and the rest won't need to, unless a third film actually happens.
