2016’s Warcraft movie is based on the classic Blizzard strategy game, but it takes creative liberties with its narrative. The Warcraft franchise is known best by the MMORPG World of Warcraft, one of the biggest and most popular games of all time, with an enormous, enduring, international fan base. However, the 2016 movie is based on the original 1994 real-time strategy game Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, which kicked off the multimedia franchise. From Warcraft’s ensemble character cast to its timeline of events, there are many aspects that differ from Blizzard’s lore canon.

Warcraft lore can be tough to catch up on, as the company has continued to expand upon it with its games, books, and comics for three decades. The original story of Orcs & Humans is fairly simple, though, and the original three Warcraft games still contain many of the best stories in the franchise, from the origin story of Thrall to the descent of Arthas. A movie adaptation of Warcraft 2 never happened to continue telling the tale, so understanding the story of the games is the next best thing.

9

Stormwind Isn’t Sacked

The Siege Of Stormwind Doesn’t Happen In The Movie

In Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the humans ultimately lose the war as the capital city of Stormwind gets sieged. In the game, this is the location where Garona kills King Llane, and the people of Stormwind, led by Anduin Lothar, are forced to retreat. It’s a far more climactic event than the final battle in the Warcraft movie, which sees the humans succeed in freeing their prisoners and escaping.

The Warcraft story changes were quite divisive following the film’s release, and director Duncan Jones addressed his decision to change the ending in an interview with io9. He explains that adding the siege of Stormwind would’ve been too much for the movie’s runtime, and explained that he felt he had accomplished enough already. He says, “I think the fact that they got the portal closed was enough.”

8

The Alliance Forms Early

The Alliance Doesn’t Form Until Warcraft II

The Warcraft movie ending sees the aftermath of King Llane Wrynn’s funeral, with humans, dwarves, and high elves gathered in Stormwind to pay respects to the fallen warrior. The implication is that the Alliance is forming to combat the orc threat, which hasn’t happened at this point in the game. High-elves are prevalent in Warcraft II, but they never even appear in the first game.

Because Stormwind is destroyed by the orcs in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans’ ending, the human faction flees north and forms the Alliance of Lordaeron with the dwarves, high-elves, and various human leaders of kingdoms such as Stormwind, Lordaeron, Kul Tiras, and Gilneas. This Alliance would’ve been one of the main subjects of a sequel movie, with Anduin Lothar representing Stormwind and uniting the other nations.

7

King Llane Tells Garona To Kill Him

In The Game, Garona Assassinates Llane In Stormwind Due To Magic Corruption

The movies make some changes to many of the main characters, including the death of King Llane. In the film’s ending, he tells Garona to kill him in battle so she can earn the respect of the orcs and lead her people to a more peaceful end than Gul’dan would intend. In Warcraft lore, she’s still not happy about killing him, but the circumstances are considerably different.

King Llane’s assassination in the game happens during the second siege of Stormwind, with Garona carrying out orders from Gul’dan. Her mind is messed up after her encounter with Medivh, resulting in her carrying out the orders. She claims no glory among the orcs for doing so and is instead captured and tortured by Orgrim Doomhammer due to reasons unrelated to the movie’s plot. It’s an altogether different scenario, but the movie’s change could’ve been established to prepare her story for the second movie, which would’ve been original as she’s not in the second game.

6

Gul’dan Is The Main Villain

Gul’dan Only Operates From The Background In The First War

Another fairly big shift in the Warcraft movie is the use of Gul’dan as the main antagonist, with his fel magic being a major proponent of the narrative. The lore has retroactively included him as an overarching villain during this time, who operated events from behind the scenes during the First War, but he’s not actually in the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.

Blackhand is the Warchief of the Orcs during the First War, and the character appears in the film as a secondary antagonist. Gul’dan is known to have influenced Blackhand, and without Gul’dan’s help, the Warchief falters fairly quickly, resulting in his death at the end of the game. The player character for the orcs in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is Orgrim Doomhammer, who eventually kills Blackhand and leads the siege on Stormwind.

5

Lothar Kills Blackhand

Orgrim Doomhammer Kills Blackhand In The Original Game

In the Warcraft movie’s ending, Lothar challenges Blackhand to Mak’gora, a ritual duel to the death. Lothar wins the confrontation quickly and easily, but Gul’dan demands that he’s killed regardless. Using the influence she received from killing King Llane, Garona states that Lothar should be allowed to leave, as per the ritual, and the orcs support her. In the game, it’s Orgrim Doomhammer who kills Blackhand, making him the next Warchief of the Horde.

Lothar’s role in the Warcraft movie is exaggerated significantly compared to the game. While he’s regarded as a hero of Stormwind during this period, he’s not the main protagonist in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and only appears briefly during a mission where the playable character goes to free him from captivity. Lothar is highly prevalent in Warcraft II and leads the humans north after the siege of Stormwind, so it makes sense why the film increased his role. However, Orgrim Doomhammer also would’ve been vital to a sequel movie as the new Warchief.

4

Durotan Wasn’t In Warcraft: Orcs & Humans

Durotan & Draka Were Created Much Later In The Warcraft Franchise

Durotan is the primary orc protagonist in the Warcraft movie, but again, he doesn’t appear in the original game. Both Durotan and his wife Draka were introduced later on in a novel called Warcraft: Lord of the Clans, as the parents of Thrall. Thrall appears in the movie as a baby and is one of the main protagonists of the Warcraft franchise, so establishing his character so that he can reappear in sequels is important.

In Warcraft game lore, Durotan and the Frostwolf Clan were exiled from the Horde on the orders of Blackhand and Gul’dan. Durotan led his people north to the Alterac Mountains, and he later tried to warn Orgrim Doomhammer of Gul’dan’s treachery. Unfortunately, he and Draka were assassinated shortly thereafter. Their son, Thrall, went on to become Warchief and one of the Warcraft universe’s most iconic characters.

3

Dalaran Is Floating

Dalaran Only Floats Later On

Dalaran can be recognized by World of Warcraft players as one of the main city hubs available to both Horde and Alliance players. It’s the main city in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion and is used during this time as an outpost in Northrend to contend with the Lich King and the Scourge. It returns in Legion, once again used as a main city for the expansion. Dalaran is seen in the game as a floating city, but this wasn’t always the case.

Of course, the original Warcraft game doesn’t show Dalaran, and at this time in the story, the city isn’t floating. It’s not a massive change or one that ruins the substance of the story, but it may have become something to address further along in the film series had they continued. As for the movie, it adds an element of magic and high-fantasy to the aesthetic, and was a quick treat for game fans to notice.

2

Khadgar Is One Of The Main Heroes

Khadgar Isn’t The Apprentice To The Guardian Of Trisfal In The First War

Khadgar is yet another character whose role is increased in the movie, with some distinct changes from the official lore. Again, he’s not a named character in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, as he was introduced in an expansion pack for Warcraft II. There is a mage character in the original game, but he’s not named and doesn’t follow any story. Khadgar was introduced in the book The Last Guardian by Jeff Grubb.

Khadgar is an apprentice to Medivh in the book, but he’s not considered to be an apprentice to the role of Guardian of Trisfal like in the film. The addition of him being kicked out of the Kirin Tor is also fresh to the movie and gives him a similar archetype to Lothar, as they’re both protagonists who don’t necessarily play by the book. These changes don’t affect the outcome of the movie very much, as Khadgar isn’t a particularly well-developed character throughout the film.

1

Medivh’s Story Is Changed

Medivh’s Lore Wasn’t Established In Warcraft I

Medivh is a vastly important character in Warcraft lore as the last Guardian of Trisal, as he’s been tainted by the titan Sargeras, who manipulates him into opening the Dark Portal for Gul’dan and the orcs. However, in the original Warcraft game, he’s essentially an evil warlock that the playable character sends troops to kill. He’s a boss, but there’s no lore explanation for what actually occurred. In this instance, the movie is decently faithful to the lore.

In the book, The Last Guardian, Lothar, Khadgar, and Garona are the team that goes to kill him, unlike in the original game. This is consistent with the 2016 Warcraft movie. Medivh’s individual character is quite different in the movie, however, as he’s shown to be more faithful to Stormwind but suffering from some corruption. In the lore, he’s far more neutral. There’s also the strange inclusion of him having a “mate,” which sort of implied that he was Garona’s father.

Sources: io9