Some alleged promotional art ignited speculation surrounding a second Warcraft movie titled Warcraft 2: Rise of the Lich King.
Based on the uber-popular Blizzard Entertainment online video game, the first Warcraft film came to theaters in 2016.
The blockbuster video game adaptation earned dismal critical reaction (sitting at 29% on Rotten Tomatoes) but raked in almost $500 million at the global box office.
Warcraft 2 Rumors Sparked Online
Fans may have been duped by some new art seemingly teasing a sequel to 2016's Warcraft film.
A promotional piece teasing a film titled Warcraft 2: Rise of the Lich King has sprung up online, leading many to believe Legendary Pictures could be headed back to the world of Azeroth.
The image seems to be based on the 2008 World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King and features former Superman star Henry Cavill in the titular role.
No plot description accompanied the art but given the inclusion of the Lich King, fans assumed the film would follow the rise of the villainous Lich King who leads an undead scourge across Azeroth.
This comes as a trailer for a supposed sequel coming from Netflix also appeared online recently, playing into speculation of a second Warcraft film being on the horizon.
While convincing, there has been no official announcement of a second Warcraft movie, and everything from the rumored film seems to be fan-made at this point.
Will Warcraft 2 Ever Happen?
At present, Legendary Pictures has not made plans for a second Warcraft film public.
The first movie was a critical disaster, and - while making a respectable $500 million - was not the financial juggernaut maybe the studio had expected.
Warcraft director Duncan Jones previously teased what he has planned for a second film in the franchise should he be given the opportunity.
He hinted at things like the iconic Doomplate Orc armor set making an appearance as well as "Dalaran LAND in the Alterac mountains" and the "imprisonment" of orc Go'el (per Nerdist).
Despite hopes he will eventually get to make a second movie, the filmmaker is not holding out hope. When asked about a sequel on X (formerly Twitter), Jones said, "[it] doesn’t look good."
While that may be the case, there have been a few instances giving fans a potential light at the end of the tunnel over the years.
Insider Daniel Richtman (via Knighted Media) teased in a report from 2020, that "another Warcraft film was in development at Legendary," but nothing has been heard about the project since then.
As it stands, the Warcraft film franchise remains on ice, despite what cleverly edited social media posts or videos may say.
Warcraft is streaming now on DirecTV in the U.S.
