A while back I put out the call to my friends on Twitter and at the end of this post about Sam Raimi directing the upcoming Warcraft movie asking what a Warcraft-themed movie would actually be about. I’m personally more interested to find out who’s writing the movie than who’s directing it, as the writing will give me much more insight into whether the screenwriter’s portfolio is full of smart, interesting work or dry, stale bread.

Some of the feedback I got was particularly interesting; @greyseer, of Lorecrafted fame, had perhaps one of the most poignant thoughts: that whatever they do the movie about has to both be appealing to current players, and also can’t require that the viewer has played through three games to understand it.

In other words, don’t expect some huge moment in Warcraft lore to be played out on the big screen – something that you’d only know if you were a hardcore PvE-er, or played through Warcraft II to see the ending. Don’t expect any re-enactments of The Sundering, don’t expect to watch the slow seduction of Queen Azshara by the combined influence of Sargeras and her own lust for more magical power, don’t expect a recap of the Tauren v. Centaur wars.

Do, on the other hand, expect the thrilling adventures of Elling Trias, Master of Cheese and secret agent for SI:7! Do expect to watch an “adventurer” who might be the role of the “player” meet figures well established in the current game and in lore and maybe go up against the Defias. You see where I’m going.

The folks over at CurseNetwork on Twitter (of Curse Gaming) thought that it might be the story of Varian Wrynn, which I think might be a little too “new” for a lot of WoW fans, but may still make a good story that brings people into the game now and still appeals to lore fans who already know Varian’s story.

Whatever the movie about, I hope it doesn’t fall too heavily on one faction or another, as in entirely from the perspective of the Alliance and portraying the Horde as savages, and I hope they don’t wind up retconning something in the process. There’s a wealth of suitable topics that would make the current World of Warcraft fans happy while simultaneously tickling the sweet spots of serious lore fans.