Uwe Boll apparently once toyed with the idea of a Warcraft film.
On May 26, 2016, a dream came true for Warcraft fans: a movie set in the fantasy world of Blizzard was released, directed by Duncan Jones. Warcraft: The Beginning played on a budget of $160 million around $439 millionwhich at first glance doesn’t sound like a flop.
But what would a Warcraft film by Uwe Boll have looked like? The Europe director is, after all, notorious for making game adaptations not very well to stage. That’s not what we say, that’s what the reviews of many of his films say. Whether Far Cry (IMDB-Rating: 3,2), Swords of the King – Dungeon Siege (IMDB-Rating: 3,8) oder Alone in the Dark (IMDB-Rating: 2,4) – the choice is long.
Not to you… especially not to you
This bad reputation once spread to Blizzard. In one Interview with MTV
I contacted Paul Sams from Blizzard and he said: We won’t sell the film rights, not to you… especially not to you.
Because the online game is such a success, a bad movie might destroy the ongoing revenue the company generates from it.
Did Uwe Boll freely admit in the last sentence that his Warcraft film would have been bad? In any case: Aside from his intention to make a film on the Blizzard brand, nothing is known about what Uwe Boll had planned for his film.
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Warcraft: The Beginning – Our conclusion about the Warcraft film
His attitude towards game adaptations seems to be special anyway. In the MTV interview linked above, he gives an insight into his opinion on games and their fans:
You try it [Spieleverfilmungen], to satisfy the gaming fans, but on the other hand, the hardcore gamers live in their own world. And you can’t fulfill their expectations with a film based on a video game, it’s impossible. And to be honest: the real gamers are the typical download types, right? They pay nothing for movies because they download the movies illegally. So why should I please these guys? I need the normal audience.
Why the Warcraft film still wasn’t a success
At the beginning we wrote that the raw numbers for Warcraft: The Beginning don’t seem like a flop. But this is only half the truth. Part of the whole story is the fact that the film was saved primarily by strong box office results in China – even if these were later suspected of being faked.
An analysis of Screenrant shows: Foreign box office receipts are not as lucrative for US film studios as domestic ticket sales; in short, less money ends up in their pockets. In connection with the rumored marketing budget of 160 million US dollars, Warcraft: The Beginning is said to have ultimately not been in the black.
What did the critics say? The press review at the time summed it up: CGI effects and staging were great, characters and plot were so-so. In general, Warcraft: The Beginning is only suitable for fans and not for the general cinema audience – pretty much the opposite of what Uwe Boll had in mind.
You can find our film review at the time as well as current reports from Azeroth here:
Did you see Warcraft: The Beginning in the cinema or later at home on the couch? How did you like the movie? Or have you never seen the film and don’t feel like doing so? How do you imagine a Warcraft film by Uwe Boll? How do you feel about game adaptations in general? Feel free to write us your opinion in the comments!
