The Warcraft Movie Trailer is Finally Here

Well, the Warcraft movie trailer is finally here. It’s a little underwhelming, but you don’t need to take my word for it when you can check it out below.

While I appreciate the fact the Orcs clearly aren’t supposed to be the bad guys, it would be nice to know who these characters are and why we should care about them. We don’t hear a single person’s name, nor do we know anything about the unspecified “dark forces” that have Orcs and humans so panicked in the first place. I mean, I could probably look that stuff up, but I’ll be seeing Warcraft anyway so I’m not the one who needs to be convinced. I have no idea why anyone would want to see this movie if they’re not already invested in World of Warcraft, and while brand recognition might be enough for fans, I don’t think the mediocre CGI on the Orcs is going to be selling many tickets to the general public (sorry). As it stands, this just feels like a generic Lord of the Rings knockoff with nothing to distinguish it from the rest of the fantasy genre.

I hope I’m wrong about that, and it’s certainly cool to see some of the Warcraft iconography in live action (if nothing else, the movie definitely looks like World of Warcraft). But Star Wars, this is not. I’m not feeling a great swell of anticipation and I suspect Warcraft will have even more trouble finding a foothold outside gaming circles.

The trailer debuted during today’s ongoing BlizzCon ceremonies. Warcraft is directed by Duncan Jones and debuts on June 10, 2016.