Warcraft Director Says 'No One Really Knows' If A Sequel Is Coming

If you're holding out hope for a sequel to the live-action Warcraft movie, you've got something in common with director Duncan Jones. But the future of franchise is definitely murky.

Based on the hugely popular video game series, the film received overwhelmingly negative reviews but still managed to bring in $433 million worldwide. It's worth noting, however, that only 10 percent of that came from the domestic box office. 

That's why the executives at Universal are probably a little cagey about a potential Warcraft 2. In an interview with JoBlo, Jones revealed that he hasn't heard anything about a sequel moving forward. "It's a truly unique case," he said. "No one really knows why or if a sequel will get made at this point. And I think no one is kind of ready to pull the trigger one way or the other. One of the things you'll probably notice or be aware of with the studios is, it's very easy to say no to things. It's very hard to say yes because that's when you get fired. You don't get fired for saying no. You get fired to saying yes. And with a Warcraft sequel, no one wants to pull the trigger."

But Jones is hopeful that the impressive box office outside of the U.S. will lead to a follow-up. "I think it has the highest divergency between fan ratings and critical ratings of any movie," he said. "It has this really weird split, and then obviously, the financial side in the U.S. was not what it needed to be, but it did do great internationally. So it's such a unique case ... We'll see what happens. Maybe at some point, someone will say, 'You know what? It made so much money in China. Let's just make it.' And assume that the international is what's gonna make it successful, but I'm still waiting. I'm hoping they do it."

A few months ago, Jones said that he has ideas for two more Warcraft movies. "This first film is about establishing the world, and showing Durotan helping his son escape a dying planet," Jones said. "So to me, the idea over the course of three films would be for Thrall to fulfill that vision of Durotan to create a new homeland for the Orcs. So in [the sequel] it would be the adolescent years of that baby, and anyone who does know their Warcraft stories would know it's very much a 'Spartacus' story that goes on with that character. I would basically follow that through. And with the human side of it, which is a little less clear of how that would follow, but basically there is an aftermath to this film which would need to be completed. And on the Orc side you're very much following that baby, Go'el, known as Thrall in the universe, and how he eventually creates the Orc homeland."

At this point, it seems a little unlikely that Universal will greenlight a sequel. After all, most sequels get put into motion right after the original hits theaters. But if it does happen, it's good to know that Jones will be ready.