As the spectators began to disperse after Guapi excitedly claimed his 500,000-dollar grand prize, the venue seemed to have no intention of holding a closing ceremony. Without any interesting performances scheduled, there was no reason to linger.
Just as everyone was heading towards the exits, a powerful, epic melody suddenly filled the air, causing everyone who heard it to involuntarily stop.
Firstly, the music was truly magnificent, compelling everyone to pause and listen. Secondly, it sounded completely unfamiliar, unlike any music from Warcraft, or even Blizzard games, or any game for that matter.
The music compelled everyone to halt. Then, they saw that all the spotlights were focused on one spot. A man, clad in armor that seemed forged from cold iron, with a head full of golden hair, stood with a greatsword of cold iron plunged into the ground before him.
"Arthas! It's Lich King Arthas!!" countless audience members cried out. They immediately abandoned their plans to leave, understanding that the sudden appearance of the Lich King meant something significant was about to happen.
"No, he hasn't drawn his sword yet. He's not Lich King Arthas! He's still a human paladin!" one player quickly retorted.
"Arthas, do not fall into the abyss of darkness! You will destroy yourself!" a female voice declared.
"Arthas, to protect your people, you must wield this sword and resist the invasion of the Burning Legion!" another voice stated.
"What is this? A cosplay performance?" As the audience watched, confused, Arthas suddenly drew Frostmourne. Simultaneously, a fierce dragon roar echoed, and a frost dragon emerged from the darkness, circling the entire map. It then landed atop the human base's castle, roaring ferociously.
"Whoa, what is that? Is that a real frost dragon?" Many were stunned by the lifelike visuals, some even crouching in fear.
"Please do not panic. This is our latest holographic projection technology, presenting a performance for you!" a broadcast announcement immediately sounded. A large screen slowly descended from behind the stage. Through the screen, the audience glimpsed a magical world. xxs1
There were valleys of obsidian ice, verdant jungles, fiery giants, elven archers with pointed ears, human soldiers, and armies of skeletons. These forces clashed, unleashing roars.
"Is this a new CG from Warcraft?" some players muttered.
"No, this isn't CG. Look at that female elf. She looks exactly like a real person. I feel like I've seen her somewhere!"
"I remember! Her name is Scarlett Johansson. She became famous from 'Misty Journey' and played Gu Ling'er in a movie!"
The audience buzzed with discussion. The scene kept shifting, eventually focusing on a city gate. Amidst endless falling petals and cheers, a black knight, leading a formidable army, entered a fortified city, a cold iron sword sheathed at his hip.
As the camera zoomed in, the knight's face was finally revealed. Good heavens, wasn't this the actor who played Thor in the recently released Marvel movie?
The video abruptly ended. Then, a figure appeared on the screen, introducing himself, "Dear players, hello. I am Allen Adahan, President of Blizzard Entertainment!"
"Today, I bring you the most surprising news: our Blizzard blockbuster movie has officially entered full production!" Allen Adahan directly announced this not-so-new information.
In truth, there had been leaks before, and rumors were rampant online. It was originally planned to be revealed at the WCG, but the honor ultimately fell to the Jiangnan Cup.
Upon hearing Allen Adahan's words, everyone instantly perked up. Adahan then proceeded to meticulously detail the movie.
"Our entire film project was initiated in early 2021. Thanks to the assistance of Jiangnan Pictures and Weta Digital, we have been able to bring this plan to reality and showcase the entire continent of Azeroth on the silver screen!"
"Initially, our biggest challenge was deciding on the filming timeline. If we followed the game's release order, it would begin with the Orcs' invasion of Azeroth. That was our initial direction, and we had a complete script prepared for it."
"However, during practical discussions, we discovered that starting with the Orc invasion would make the narrative and history of Azeroth extremely protracted. Furthermore, based on our surveys of readers and players, everyone expressed a greater desire to see Arthas, meaning the story from Warcraft III, rather than the somewhat tedious and mundane early plot!"
"But if we were to film according to Warcraft's official lore, reaching Arthas's story would be the final installment of a trilogy, meaning audiences would have to wait five to six years to see Arthas!"
"My God, I couldn't even convince myself to wait that long. Therefore, after careful consideration by our company, the Warcraft film series will still be a trilogy, but all films will begin with Arthas's campaign. This means the first installment of our Warcraft trilogy will be titled 'Son of Light'!"
Allen Adahan's words were met with fervent cheers from the audience. Although they had already guessed from the trailer that the first Warcraft movie would focus on Arthas's story – arguably the most exciting part of the entire Warcraft universe – hearing it directly from Allen Adahan’s mouth elicited overwhelming excitement.
When news of the Warcraft film series first broke, there was a significant debate online about which part of the story the film would adapt.
The general concern was that it would start from the very beginning, adapting the story from Warcraft I, which few people knew. While this part served as the narrative's genesis and had its own merits, it was undeniable that when Warcraft I was made, Blizzard was still an infant company, and its storytelling capabilities were quite poor. The plot of Warcraft I was essentially a chronological account with no particularly memorable moments.
What truly elevated Warcraft to legendary status was the story of Arthas in the third installment. Therefore, countless fans strongly urged for the production to begin directly with Arthas, rather than delving into the less appealing story of the first game, which would undoubtedly disappoint many viewers.
Now, their concerns were finally put to rest, as Blizzard had made the right decision.
However, these audience members were unaware that Allen Adahan, who was speaking on screen, had engaged in intense debates with the film company regarding how the Warcraft movie should be made.
Allen Adahan himself strongly advocated for a faithful adaptation of Warcraft's official lore, step by step. This was understandable; Warcraft was his brainchild, and he naturally wished to showcase its complete journey from infancy to adolescence to adulthood.
But this proposal was met with strong opposition from Jiangnan Pictures. They argued that the plots of Warcraft I and II were utterly bland and lacked dramatic tension.
For the film to succeed, the plot would need significant alterations. However, this would deal a heavy blow to Warcraft's core fans, who would absolutely not tolerate their beloved story being drastically rewritten by screenwriters.
Therefore, it would be better to start directly from the third installment.
The conflict between these two viewpoints was akin to filming a movie about the Three Kingdoms. Allen Adahan insisted on a comprehensive narrative of the rise and fall of the Three Kingdoms, meaning the first film would have to start with the "Party Scourge," depicting how the Eastern Han court engaged in political struggles and how unstable society was, ultimately leading to the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, thereby comprehensively explaining the reasons for the formation of the Three Kingdoms.
However, Jiangnan Pictures found this utterly ridiculous, as a film's first installment should feature the main characters. Thus, they insisted on starting with the Oath of the Peach Garden. This was the core of their disagreement.
The two sides argued endlessly until the matter reached Boss Huang.
Boss Huang, having seen the Warcraft movie in his previous life, knew how well-made it was, yet also how poorly received by the market and how disastrously it ultimately failed financially.
Therefore, Boss Huang personally made the decision to begin filming directly from Arthas, marking the debut of Warcraft's primary protagonist.
However, to appease Allen Adahan and further leverage the value of the Warcraft IP, Boss Huang also ordered Los Gatos Television to begin preparations for a Warcraft TV series.
This series would be released in conjunction with the movie, capitalizing on the hype generated by the Warcraft film. It would start from the very origins of the Warcraft world, the Orc invasion. Through the television series, the entire world would be fleshed out, complementing the movie's narrative, which finally led Allen Adahan to agree to the production plan.
Following this, Allen Adahan proceeded to provide basic details about the Warcraft movie, casting choices, amusing anecdotes from the filming process, and most importantly, the release date.
The film was confirmed to be released during the Christmas season in late December 2007, which again sparked cheers from the audience.
Finally, Allen Adahan treated the audience to another new trailer, once again showcasing the grandeur and vastness of Azeroth in full special effects.
The trailer concluded with the already scorched land of Lordaeron and a dialogue between a father and son.
"Father, is our world really doomed?" a child asked mournfully, looking at the ruined city.
"No, we still have hope!" the father replied. "If… we can find an immortal."