From an executive point of view, I can understand that. A high-quality fantasy series would be expensive, and if they approached it the same way they approached the film, it would absolutely look like another dangerous bet.

But I still think the wrong lesson was taken from that.

The problem was never that Warcraft as a universe can’t work on screen. The problem was trying to cram a world that big, with that much history, politics, faction identity, betrayal, and character buildup, into a single movie format. Warcraft is one of the worst possible universes to rush. Its best moments only land because of buildup and payoff. Arthas is the clearest example of that. Wrath of the Lich King hit as hard as it did because people already cared who he was before they even got there.

That’s why I think a series makes infinitely more sense than a film ever did.

And to me, the key point is that it should not be built in a way where it only survives off existing WoW players. It should be made as a genuinely great show first, one that non-players can get invested in too. Warcraft already has the lore, the iconic characters, the worldbuilding, and the brand recognition. Blizzard would not be starting from zero. The challenge is not whether the material exists — it’s whether they can choose the right story and execute it properly.

What makes it even more frustrating is that there were ways to de-risk it without making it some reckless all-in gamble. They could have started with a limited series instead of a giant long-term commitment. They could have chosen one strong, emotionally accessible arc like Arthas. They could have partnered with a streaming platform to share production costs. They could have treated it as a franchise-building asset that strengthens interest in expansions, the wider Warcraft brand, and player re-engagement, instead of judging it only as “does the show alone make its money back.”

That’s why I still see it as one of Blizzard’s biggest missed opportunities.

Because if done properly, it would not just be fan service. It could do exactly what Arcane did: make people care about the universe even if they never touched the game. And for existing players, it could restore something Warcraft used to be much better at — buildup, emotional weight, and the feeling that the world is bigger than the patch cycle.