Filmmaker Reacts: World of Warcraft - The War Within

[@PhilipHarts]

What is your favorite World of Warcraft cinematic and why? Subscribe here and Follow me on twitch.tv/philiphartshorn Join my discord to help me choose my next video: discord.gg/J85mKhG Watch my film work here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fILKZpVsl8aafdU Follow my Twitter: Twitter.com/philipharts

[@joveonlightbringer9684]

Favorite is probably "Old Soldier". Made 5 years ago, so not quite as advanced as "The War Within", but still very good and remarkable for its time. You will recognize some of the dialog this new video refers back to. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4jCmWOnm56ppqM

[@Tallsquall]

The Saurfang trilogy which includes “Old Soldier” is amazing. Also in this video I think it is such a testament to the filmmakers that knowing literally nothing you asked all the right questions and picked up on all the right things - esp. “it’s like his soul is being stretched” Spot on!

[@martinjacobsen2992]

As everyone else here has said, Old Soldier is amazing. So is Wrath of the Lich king Cinematic which you just did, and for the lore lovers out there, The Legion Cinematic and the Death of King Varian, Anduins father is also a very powerful if not as well made in terms of graphics, regardless it goes to show part of Anduins sorrow, and while I will get some hate for this, try out the Cataclysem cinematic too, if only for a more visual picture grasp of the world as it shows many parts of it.

[@Weliketoboogie]

I agree, there is elements of Old Soldier set of trailers and also the Wrath of the Lucy King cinematic in this very trailer. Load them up and prepare to have your world rocked!

[@brightlittlething]

Gotta watch the Arthas Cinematic from Warcraft 3, it'll shed some light on the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic.

[@joveonlightbringer9684]

Anduin had the weight of the world placed on his shoulders as a kid. Father died and he had to assume the throne. The Prophet Velen telling other leaders Anduin is destined to lead the Army of the Light in its final battle. Then forced into a war he didn't want, a war they were losing, seeing so many men he felt responsible for die... Through most of that he held strong, though it weighed on him. Then he was captured, dominated (mentally raped), and used as a vessel to commit atrocities. He was eventually rescued, and his friends never blamed him, but he's been struggling to put himself back together. Here he's reacting to being asked to be a savior figure again.

[@AmandaPelland]

(clapping hands) Well said, well said!!

[@drowzydullahan]

Extremely well put! Honestly can't think of a better way to summarize all that Anduin's been through. Only thing missing is him suffering horrible physical trauma as a child as well, when Garrosh literally shattered every bone in his body! Even by common standards, Anduin really hasn't had it easy by any stretch, the poor bastard.

[@luisf.r8146]

You forgot to mention, it the last cinematic, he says that what sickens him the most, is to think that the satisfaction of hurting and killing his friends he felt while dominated, may been his, not the jailors. That is probably what affects him the most. He is no longer able to summon light, nor does his sword shine anymore.

[@AmandaPelland]

@@luisf.r8146 Yes, I remember that scene when Anduine was speaking with Sylvanas in the Maw, he wasn't sure if it was all the Jailor controlling him that he may have liked it, to hurt others.

[@WaywardHex]

​ @amandapelland5941 If I remember correctly from some tidbits and Archon talking about it, rather than mind control, the domination doesn't really force you to do something but it forces your very being "to be and act" a certain way. Not an order that has to be obeyed but more of an extreme and overwhelming temptation.

[@joshuaevans4301]

I love how, despite not having any knowledge of the lore whatsoever, you immediately identified everything important about these characters from the scene itself

[@PhilipHarts]

Thank you to the World of Warcraft community for this amazing warm welcome and for being so kind to me. I will be covering mor cinematics in order that they released! I appreciate all of your amazing comments on the lore and I’ve been reading them all. Looking forward to the next one!

[@OhNoTheFace]

Appreciate your insights into stuff like this :O

[@DarklingThrush]

Looking forward to it! 🙂

[@thontor]

I just subscribed to see more of your warcraft cinematics reactions

[@lennyvalentin6485]

This is one heck of a video to just jump straight into! lol It's like seeing Frodo standing on the slope of Mount Doom, struggling under the weight of the Ring, and falling, not knowing who the characters are, why they are there, or even any of the backstory that set up the situation in the first place. :) There's literally years of lore behind Anduin (and Thrall even more so actually, although he's not the main character of this piece.) Anduin Wrynn is the High King of the Alliance, a title he inherited from his father, Varian Wrynn. Varian was a good king and a mighty warrior who fought against the Orcish Horde (who were invaders from a distant, doomed planet) as well as the demons of the Burning Legion. Eventually, the demons were vanquished with the help of the Horde and Alliance combined, and a shaky cease fire lasted for some years. Anduin was born some time during this period, he was a small child when World of Warcraft first came online. Varian was kidnapped by Horde infiltrators in the intervening years between after the war ended and when WoW began, so in his early childhood, Anduin grew up essentially orphaned (as his mother had been assassinated, as I recall). Later on, Varian was rescued, having lived for years as a Gladiator with amnesia and forced to compete in arena fights. During this period he was given Shalamayne, the magic sword Anduin now carries, because of (very long story). Anduin didn't actually have much if anything to do in-game until the "Mists of Pandaria" expansion when he was in his mid-teens roughly, where his ship went missing and ran aground on a new, previously unknown land. Alliance players set out on Varian's orders to find out what happened to his son, and we find him...doing quite well for himself actually. Everybody, including Varian, had sort of assumed Anduin would follow in his father's footsteps and become a warrior, but here we see Anduin wielding the Holy Light quite successfully, smiting and fending off his foes until the player together with some assistants finally catch up to him. During the Pandaria expansion it becomes obvious Anduin wants to become a priest rather than a warrior, and Varian also comes to accept that. Some years later in the "Legion" expansion, the demons of the Burning Crusade return a third time to finish what they originally tried to do 10,000 years previous, IE burn down all of planet Azeroth and kill every living thing on her, and in one of the early skirmishes, Varian sacrifices himself to save the crew of his escaping airship. Young prince Anduin is thrust into a leadership role before he finds himself ready for it and has to take up his father's mantle and lead the Alliance as High King in a genocidal war of extermination, one they very well might lose, as the Burning Legion has the greatest army in the known universe. Anduin struggles under the weight of having to send countless people to die on his behalf on a continent far away while he sits on the throne in his father's castle, safe - for the moment anyway. Thus he abandons the throne to go find himself. Players catch up with Anduin on the Broken Shore, the blackened wasteland battlefield where his father had fallen to the demons. There he finds Shalamayne embedded into the rock, its red light snuffed out. Gingerly, he reaches for the blade, and it begins to shine a golden glow of the Holy Light. Eventually, we find allies in the Army of the Light, and manage to defeat the minions and the lieutenants of the Mad Titan, Sargeras, one after the other, and then also the Titan himself. As Sargeras sees his plans crumble in his defeat, he tries in desperation to kill Azeroth's Worldsoul, stabbing the planet with his demonic blade. The damage inflicted to Azeroth causes the planet to bleed in countless places - creating Azerite deposits - crystals of incredible power and potency. A new, pointless war quickly boils up between the Horde and the Alliance over this precious new resource, even as the Worldsoul cries out in pain, slowly dying from its wounds. In the "Battle for Azeroth" expansion cinematic we see young Anduin Wrynn dressed in the thick, elaborate plate armor of a warrior, carrying Shalamayne and a shield. He seems uncomfortable fighting hand-to-hand even as he vanquishes his foes with great force and desperation. At a point everything seems lost, his allies around him fall as he falters, confused. Then, in a moment of inner peace, he drops the sword and pleads to the Light, and it answers. Later on, we learn that much of the troubles that have been happening are caused by an Old God (essentially these are Lovecraftian tentacles/eyes/mouths/teeth creatures from the Void - immensely powerful and ridiculously evil), as well as the machinations of Sylvanas Windrunner, the undead Banshee Queen (long long story), who is now leader of the Horde. Sylvanas, we learn in the "Shadowlands" expansion, was working with a previously unknown entity known as The Jailer. Essentially filling the purpose of ruler of the worst section of the Afterlife where all the irredeemably bad souls are destined to go, except he too is irredeemably bad and was therefore trapped inside his own deepest, darkest, most unpleasant hole in existence - known as The Maw. There he has been planning his own prison break for a couple eons basically, laying brick to affect outcomes so he can escape and end/destroy the entire universe - or else letting something *even* *worse* happen. Something Sargeras had also been alluding to, which was his main motivator to snuff out all life. Part of this eons-long plan saw to tricking Anduin Wrynn into becoming Dominated by the Jailer, and using Anduin and his connection to the Light to essentially kill lots of people, steal the last seal holding the Jailer, and then break free. We rescue Anduin and free him from the Domination magic, but during his time in bound servitude to the Jailer, Anduin's spirit was broken and he no longer trusts himself. He doesn't know if the things he did was because he was being dominated, or if he secretly desired it. Sylvanas, having been made non-dead by the Jailer as punishment by giving back to her the soul ripped from her by Arthas Menethil (also known as the Lich King (long long story)), was sentenced to atone for her crimes by freeing all the countless souls from all over Creation which were unjustly sent into The Maw to help power his escape, and the last we saw of Anduin at the end of "Shadowlands", was him joining her. So here we see a battered, bruised Anduin, still wearing the scratched, worn plate armor we first saw in the fight outside Undercity in "Battle for Azeroth". He's obviously still PTSD-afflicted and not in balance with himself yet - if he will ever be, we'll have to see. But as he has become the heart and soul of the Alliance in a way, we have to hope he will recover.

[@zarasha8220]

@@lennyvalentin6485 thank you for taking the time to write out a very detailed, yet easy to digest summary of who Anduin is and the key, defining moments & characters that molded him into the person he is today.

[@garion_s]

I love how you immediately highlighted the part where Thrall stabilized Anduin's trembling hand by leaning on the tip of the sword, simultaneously proving his words about trusting Anduin and providing him with support and reassurance he needed. The best part of the cinematic for me, don't see a lot of other people noticing this more subtle detail. Also, bonus points for mentioning Stormlight! 😁

[@JB-xl2jc]

Also even though it was presented pretty well, I love that he picked up Anduin's entire mental state in literally like, one second.

[@nadiamond]

There is a reason Thrall is called green Jesus lol

[@mylarus]

Yeah didn’t notice it.

[@JulyTiger1986]

Stormlight call out was on point haha, that made me so happy to hear

[@Shianky]

I noticed it immediately and also thought it shows a lot of depth. Great visual metaphor

[@doomwolf7963]

This cinematic is so emotional especially if you know the lore, Anduin is strong but broken atm, he will be back on track

[@WorthlessDoNotReconnect]

Give us back our true king of the alliance the litteral chosen one

[@doomwolf7963]

@@WorthlessDoNotReconnect yes please FOR THE ALLIANCE!

[@VesperAegis]

What a complete bore both cinematically and in terms of actual development, narrative, and interesting conversation, though. No one moved further than two feet, and the dialogue consisted almost entirely of "I'm broken!" "You have to actively do something to cure yourself!" "Something's coming!" "I feel it too!" Man I've seen better dialogue in potboiler novels.

[@TheDeadAreLiving]

@@VesperAegis I'm guessing you don't know the lore of World of Warcraft and what Anduin has been through. This cinematic is just the start to the next chapter of the game.

[@AmandaPelland]

I've teared up big time. Anduin is a favorite character of mine because what he went through and then this. No words.

[@lazarusfitness3892]

Can I please just say, you have gotten my sub for 2 reasons. You allowed the cinematic to play in it's entirety without pauses on the first run. No rewinding and no pauses and you didn't talk over anything important. The soft spokeness on the initial reaction just mentioning the things that stood out as it progressed for you was SO NICE and refreshing. Every reactor I see for music videos or game videos. Pause and rewind and constantly talk over it where any actual meaning or moment is completely lost and not appreciated. So thank you. For those two reasons I know your gonna go far.

[@TsarNick1995]

Same.

[@TonysTechAndCars]

True

[@drodevil102]

ALL THIS XXX

[@MaemuraLonewolf]

Great analysis, thank you. As someone else posted, Josh Keaton is the voice actor for Anduin. He's done a ton of voice work, including being Spider-Man. He also plays WoW, which is kind of awesome. He was asked if he'd done mo-cap for this and said no, just video recording. The second this cinematic started and I saw the sword (that used to belong to Anduin's father, the late King Varian) I started bawling like a baby. Blizzard's cinematics have always been top notch, but something about having watched this character grow up over the years and this new version of his theme music just killed me.

[@4F0xSake]

Yeah I was going to mention this, obviously the cinematic is already amazing, but from a technical stand point I was so shocked to hear this wasn't fully mo-cap'd but instead just the VA performance recorded and recreated by the cinematics team.

[@ZakhadWOW]

THe second I saw the eyes from the side I recognized Josh.. Ive interacted with him a lot on twitter. IG, Twitch including group runs of old raids for mounts.. I knew those were his eyes immediately

[@sethpahre7165]

I also bawled like a baby. I went and rewatched all the Battle for Azeroth cinematics and the music just comes rushing back. What a callback to everything Anduin has been through. It makes his beard and scars mean so much more.

[@MaemuraLonewolf]

@@sethpahre7165 absolutely. I've also gone back and re-watched the Legion and BfA cinematics/cutscenes. Wrath used to be my fave cine, now it's TWW. I just keep thinking..."oh baby boy, what have they done to you?" I'm a mess lol

[@SeanCC]

Can confirm as my brother has been in the cinematics dept. at Blizzard for several years. I was blown away that this wasn't performance capture, but I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. Little known fact, the first of the LOTR movies that featured Gollum was accomplished the same way. The performance capture tech didn't work yet. They let Andy Sirkis go on his little tour talking about how it was his direct, actual performance though. It was true in the next film. The animators at Blizzard prefer animating carefully to reference footage versus spending that much (or more) time having to clean-up performance capture data instead of being animators. The reference has to be good though, and in this case it was stunning.

[@_kyt_]

Anduin is a character that feels like a baby brother that's grown with us and the game. He's maybe canonically five years younger than I am and he's been in the game since the start of World of Warcraft, so its been fun watching his model upgrade and age every few years as his story progresses alongside ours. It's heartwrenching to see him like this.

[@drodevil102]

everything correct. He is our baby brother and i really want to protect him, FOR THE ALLIANCE.

[@AmandaPelland]

I know, right! I've watch this cinematic so many times and viewed KZbin content creator reactions just to see their reaction. It's amazing Blizz slapped down a blank check to the creative team. Thank you so much for your feedback Philip, it gave me goosebumps ☺

[@Alex-Shulman]

One great lore thing: the first line, "You are here to tell me that we don't get to hide", is a callback to a past emotional climax scene where the orc, Thrall, is told that line by someone else, pulling him out of a similar exile. There's tons of other callbacks and meaningful things, but that first one was the biggest to me. As for what happened to Anduin: It's complicated, but the simple version is that he was mentally "dominated" by an evil character known as the Jailer, and made to do lots of murder. He is ultimately fought as a boss by the players, and when he is defeated, the Jailer orders him to literally self-destruct, but he manages to break free through visions of his father and another notable father-like figure to him (that was the soul being drained out of him scene). He was so scarred by this whole experience that he went into self-imposed exile for about 8 years in game, so this cinematic is the first time we've seen him since he was like a young and relatively optimistic 20ish year old.

[@PhilipHarts]

That’s awesome, so are there time skips in game somehow??

[@miriamweller812]

He actually didn't do much murder, the main problem is, as he told Sylvanas, that he remembers to feel joy about the power, what is the main thing that makes him question himself. Sylvanas plan overall was one to change the realm of death for the better - what even with the betrayal of Zovaal against it, still worked out halfway well (what includes the strength and will of Sylvanas to go against her powerful partner, but also Anduins strength to deny the order of annihilation he was given and freed himself from the influence of the death god (and that without a Crown of Will). But again: as he told Sylvanas later, a part of him felt joy about all this power and this doesn't let him go and makes him not trust himself.

[@koletonnelson6310]

@@PhilipHartsThe Passage of time in-game vaguely matches the passage of time IRL (so every expansion takes place over roughly 2 years), but there was also a 5~ish year timeskip between Shadowlands (where his trauma happened), and the start of the current expansion, Dragonflight. That’s why his story is such a big deal; the players have literally watched him grow up from an 8~ish year old way back in 2004. He’s practically our adopted son at this point.😆

[@Alex-Shulman]

Well he killed a fair amount of NPCs. I was simplifying to not go on a lore tangent for the guy@@miriamweller812

[@Alex-Shulman]

Usually the game keeps to a rough, not exactly public 1:1 time with real life. But in between the most recent 2 expansions before the one this is a trailer for, they added about an 8 year time skip to let the world progress forward a bit.@@PhilipHarts

[@willdoug6604]

when anduin stood up with red and teary eyed you could feel his anguish and pain hes been through so much

[@caribaska]

We warcraft players have witnessed how Thrall and Anduin characters have growed through the years.

[@Gebirges]

We've seen their birth, childhood, youth and their entire life. Both share a painful life with Thrall being at the same point Anduin faces now before. (Firelands until BfA hit him hard in character) Anduin got a great mentor in Thrall as he's the 4th father figure after Varian, Bolvar and Saurfang. (Yes Bolvar didn't really got much attention but he was there for him over many years) I have so high hopes for this Saga ❤

[@FantasyPiano317]

I remember seeing Anduin as the former „king“ as an vanilla alliance player! It’s so awesome to see him now and recognizing what a trip it’s been 🔥😁

[@tenerifecats6652]

From ‘escorting’ young Anduin to him as a strong hero he is now! He is truly the hope of Azeroth! If anyone can unite the Horde and Alliance to protect Azeroth, it has to be Anduin.

[@Venkolm]

Sadly, some players forgot to grow themselves.

[@GiangNguyen-uc3yv]

Thrall is at the stage where he should have a dad's bod lol

[@nathanielcohen364]

Okay, as quick of a rundown as I can with the extensive lore behind the characters: Anduin: Son of King Varian Wrynn, who sacrificed himself and in doing so made Anduin King of the Alliance, Anduin is a very strong priest turned paladin who has striven for and almost died for peace along with others, such s the orc Thrall, who is the other character present. Even before this, though, his father disappeared for a time and he was technically king at the age of 10. When he became king for the second time, it was in wake of the most dire threat the world has known (The Legion), and alongside him we persevered. After this he was forced into war with the Horde (Thrall used to lead them), and after countless deaths of not only his men, but the innocent people of the Alliance who he desperately tried to protect, which he blamed himself for, he managed to be a kay factor in ending the war in peace while avoiding one final conflict. Without much time after the war, the escaped horde Warchief (it's a whole other thing) dragged him, Thrall, and others into the realm of death, but even in it's darkest shadows did he manage to call upon the light. That was, until after keeping his faith through months in chains and probably a heavy touch of torture, his weapon -originally wielded by his father- was turned into a device that dominated his will, causing him to bear witness to tragedies caused by his own hand as he served the very evil he resisted for so long. This culminated to a battle between him and his closest friends (and us) where he was going to be used as a bomb to wipe them out. Seconds before this happened (his flashback from the cinematic) he was reminded by the spirits of those who had wielded the blade before him that it was not evils, but his, and in a feat of pure willpower he broke his oppressors chains. These events left the king, still in his 20's I believe, shattered and haunted, making him afraid to call on the light because he fears it will no longer answer. After leaving the death realm, he disappeared to think about all that has happened and to collect himself. Since then, this cinematic is the first we've seen of him. Thrall: Important character, but his lore isn't needed much for this cinematic. Orc slave and gladiator turned liberator and warchief. Strove for peace and has been a friend of Anduin for some time. The Sword!: When the Legion (as briefly mentioned in Anduin's lore) came to Azeroth yet again, us heroes pushed them back and ventured onto the offensive against them for the first time, until eventually we met the titans (warcraft gods), who we helped trap Sargeras, the rogue titan leader of the Legion. All was going... smoothish until he left a parting gift. His sword embedded in our planet, It's caused some nuances and helped spark the war after the Burning Legion is defeated, but we know very, very little about it (other than us being forced to sacrifice the power from our most badass weapons ever to stop its corruption). Hopefully this helps and remained comprehensive throughout!

[@felskeren284]

all this, + Arthas, one of the biggest villains in Warcraft, was under the same influence that enslaved Anduin, the shot where Anduin pull his sword, is a throwback to an Arthas Cinematic. His sword also used to glow brightly, but since Anduin lost his connection with the light, the sword also doesnt light up anymore

[@faxpaladin]

One other point about Thrall: he's a shaman. When he kneels down and touches the sand here he's actually communing with the elemental earth, actively seeking information. He also at one point lost his connection to the elements, which led to his own self-exile - exile that, as alluded to in another comment, ended after the events of another cinematic in which his friend Saurfang told him "we don't get to hide."

[@housefullofransackery3505]

Also, while Anduin was mind controlled in the death realm he was used as a tool to directly slay one of the...kind of primal forces of the realm.

[@drodevil102]

I love our community xxxx

[@CaptainGrubZ]

I love how you pointed out the immediate reaction Anduin had to Thrall placing his hand on his shoulder. The instantaneous reaction, the subtle change of expression that shows extreme emotional reaction to it from the traumatic events he experienced. It's extremely powerful.

[@shammydammy2610]

The orc, Thrall, is voiced by Chris Metzen, who is a major designer/writer in the Warcraft/World of Warcraft universe. He also voiced Anduin's father, Varian, as well...so you hear him voicing two different characters in this cinematic alone.

[@krim7]

Metzen voiced almost every character with a deep voice at the beginning of the game 😅

[@shammydammy2610]

@@krim7 Pretty much yeah.

[@kimberly4275]

What the 🤯 I never knew Chris was the voice actor.

[@shammydammy2610]

@@kimberly4275 Diablo - Leoric StarCraft - Marine, Battlecruiser, Ghost Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos - Thrall Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - Thrall, Vol'jin World of Warcraft - Thrall, Vol'jin, Orcs, Nefarian, Ragnaros, Hakkar the Soulflayer, Vaelastrasz the Corrupt World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade - Thrall, Vol'jin World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - Thrall, Vol'jin, Varian Wrynn, Deathbringer Saurfang/Dranosh Saurfang, Bronjahm StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty - Marine, Battlecruiser, Tauren Marine World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - Thrall, Vol'jin, Varian Wrynn, Nefarian, Ragnaros, Hakkar the Soulflayer World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria - Thrall, Arcanital Mara'kah, Captain Halu'kal, Nalak the Storm Lord, War-God Jalak Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm - Marine, Battlecruiser Hearthstone - Thrall, Various minions World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor - Thrall, Varian Wrynn Heroes of the Storm - Thrall, Varian Wrynn, Imperius StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void - Marine, Battlecruiser World of Warcraft: Legion - Thrall, Varian Wrynn, Duke Hydraxis Overwatch - Bastion World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth - Thrall World of Warcraft: Shadowlands - Thrall, Varian Wrynn Warcraft III: Reforged - Thrall, Vol'jin Overwatch 2 - Bastion

[@salsatheone]

Metzen voiced Jimmy Raynor back in Starcraft 1. That was 1998. And also did the manual interior art for Warcraft 1, 2 and Starcraft. He's a legend.

[@eriklunden5218]

I'm no filmmaker, but I thought it was really smart how they kept the subjects looking in primarily one direction, a direction the camera doesn't show. Then, they individually look in that direction, showing it's significance, to then reveal what they were both looking at. It's a great foreshadowing in such a short time. Also, Anduin's flinch when he is touched on the shoulder (presumably for the first time in years) hit's hard. Such human detail, not only in the art, but the acting.

[@fatalfailure6240]

I like no one points out when he points his sword at Thrall (3:05), it's the exact pose Arthas pulls in the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic. I feel it's a pretty iconic pose in WoW, given the popularity of the cinematic, and this really juxtaposes the time he spent enslaved and the source of his pain.

[@That_Doctor_Del_Fella]

Its even more poetic when you consider that the last shard of Arthas' soul was used to temporarily convert Shalamayne into a mourneblade by the Jailer.

[@thebenis3219]

Because no one needs to point it out because we all know what it implies? lol.

[@JacobLMontanez]

Honestly, everyone seems to point that out. It's the more subtle "Anduin" whisper from the world soul/heart of Azeroth and the "My son" from his own father that calls back to (I paraphrase) King Menethil's speech to Arthas saying "My son. On the day you were born, the very land whisperd the name 'Arthas.'" I haven't seen that mentioned or referenced by anyone. There is a lot of deeper intertwining/parallelism between Anduin and Arthas's fates at play in this cinematic than gets it's appropriate due.

[@nlmod]

Anduin also made this pose with the sword when he said "for the alliance" in the BFA battle for Lordaeron cinematic, though the sword is out of shot, it's the same pose used as well. And I feel like Anduin and Arthas are both sides of the same coin, one fell to darkness, the other rises in the light. I think that's what they might've planned with the upcoming expansion.

[@kyvanrae]

In this cinematic there are so many callbacks to other cinematics from wow Anduin is a character we have followed since he was a small child. We basically watched him grow up, and in Shadowlands, this hopeful, peace-loving person became a broken person.

[@bmar192]

I've always thought about him as one of the main characters of the story of World of Warcraft (not necessarily Warcraft)

[@joveonlightbringer9684]

I still remember taking him on walks around Stormwind, when he was a wee lad, trying to keep him out of harm's way.

[@DirtCheapFU]

I remember Anduin back when he was a generic kid model lol

[@TrafalgarWaterDLaw-dl5cm]

In a way it is beautiful. He grew into a way to optimistic pure peace loving priest. That hot broken over snd over but he still had so much faith even when his father died and he fought a great war as a King thst cost many loves he feels responsible for. But after Shadowlands it feels as if the reality of the cruelty and loss of all those years,sets in at once. As if he was able to mentally block ot all this time and be such a peace loving man. Now for the first time we see him grow from that whiny kid to a man, from a broken hero to a shining king again. And having this warrior arc will cement him as propably the greatest Paladin to evet exsist. Much how he taught his father about trust and love for peace. He will learn that to preserve it you must fight. And much like Saurfang that will be when all follow him without question.

[@iamthesayyadina]

I love how you can see the giant sword reflected in their eyes. It’s not enough to distract or even notice unless you’re looking for it on a rewatch. New subscriber here. Can’t wait to watch your take on the WoW cinematics in order. However, just know that you’ve begun with their absolute best one to date, so rein in your expectations, because there’s not only twenty years of technology (WoW was released in Nov ‘04), but also twenty years of experience making them and twenty years of story that made this amazing cinematic possible. Both of these characters have been through a lot. But the depiction of Anduin’s PTSD, and Thrall assuming the surrogate father role was so beautiful and well done, it absolutely broke me on Friday when it premiered at Blizzcon. And speaking of Villeneuve… when we can get this level of CGI, (and a fully believable Rocket Raccoon), I’m really looking forward to Alia in Dune Part 2. Thanks so much for this.

[@laurenbouhnik]

When thrall places his hand on Anduin's shoulder, it takes him back to the moment where Varian (Anduin's father) appeared to him while he was being dominated by the Jailer (one the lowest moments in Anduin's life). In this one shot you can see him going through all the emotions, the pain, the grief, the guilt, that he was going through at that time. This trailer is such a masterpiece! 💔

[@EnriqueGonzalez18362]

You got my sub man. It's amazing that not knowing anything about the lore, you catch so many details and form a somewhat close idea of Anduin's state of mind and what happened to him, plus more information based on the emotions displayed. That speaks volumes of your craft.

[@loganboyd10]

What you said at the end hit the nail on the head, the makers should feel proud of how captivating this conversation was even without context. “I have no light” gives me chills every time

[@WPharolin]

I'd love to see you react to past cinematics from wow. There are plenty of compilation videos showcasing them all in chronological order. Those tend to be multiple hours long, but if you broke it into parts, it would make a nice miniseries. I especially appreciate your commentary as someone who doesn't know the characters and lore and who is coming at this from the perspective of a filmmaker.

[@jeremymbuss]

The cinematics team always kills it. In particular check out the Wrath of the Lich King announce trailer.

[@Kmmlc]

I would say to look at the cinematics yes, but not the game engine rendered ones.

[@AllaMenethil]

Uuh this would be amazing. WoW cinematics are always good.

[@MizCosmopolitan]

I would love this too!

[@MauroGagliega]

The cinematic seems to hint to a step-father figure plan in the making, as in Thrall becoming the father figure for the Alliance king. Simply through the acting and eye movements alone, you can tell Thrall is relieved, happy, even devastated for Anduin, but he knows he still needs some growing up to achieve his full potential and he is understanding of what he went through, not as a wise shaman because shamans are wise, but simply because he went through a lot of turmoil himself and understands loss and misery in his life. He is old enough to impart some knowledge to the next generation of willing fighters, even if they are on the other side of the aisle.

[@miikro]

Anduin has always had great admiration for Thrall, even when his father was alive and telling him The Horde is irrevocably evil (and yeah, I know Varian pulled back on that before he died). Seeing them usher us into this new arc together is really powerful.

[@gmoney9469]

I feel like everyone is Anduin’s father figure at this point lol

[@lprafalic]

Anduin already had father figure in Grenn

[@Arthera0]

You have my sub. your immediate eye for detail is great that many fans of the franchise miss. Also slightly annoyed by people not getting how good this trailer is.

[@FooBRaP]

This cinematic is so touching. Even if you have no idea about wth is World of Warcraft, the level of detail and the way everything is so tightly woven together makes it perfect. And yeah, I noticed you quickly got hooked by Thrall's voice. I consider his VA the best among all the other characters (and trust me, VA is exceedingly good in WoW). I suggest you watch/react to the "Safe Haven" cinematic for more Thrall ASMR.

[@Nilmur2]

Chriz Metzen is the Voice Actor for Thrall, essentailly the father of Warcraft Lore

[@TenaciousWarden]

We are so fortunate to have Metzen back. No one like him!

[@convivialkid]

This is one of the best cinematic breakdowns I've ever seen! Your narration of the events you saw and experienced without every playing the game and knowing the context is exceptional! Listening to you break down all aspects, the film-making, sound, and performance with expert detail gave me even more value to watching the cinematic again. Thank you for that! Hope to see more of your breakdowns in the future! Much respect! 🤜🤛

[@LobsterFusion]

What I really enjoy about Anduin is he's been a character in World of Warcraft since the game was released in 2004. But he was a child NPC back then. After six years we see him as a teenager in Cataclysm and he grows up more and even quests with your character in Mists of Pandaria. This entire time we have watched him grow up and go through so many changes. He's not just an NPC with the same dialogue everytime you run past him. He has full on growth and I love that about him and the game itself.

[@phantom0456]

I knew Anduin was supposed to be pretty but they managed to make him pretty and gritty at the same time. The cinematic team really nailed him here. Thrall looked pretty amazing as well.

[@abhabh6896]

They gave him all the rizz they can spare..... Plot twist: he ran in the dessert to escape all the fan girls. Thrall was there to tell him that he doesnt get to hide, he needs to face the fan girls once and for all.

[@tenerifecats6652]

Blizzard creators are some of the very best not only in the incredible storytelling but also in the artist work in their videos! The ‘cut scenes’ during major quest lines can really pull you in. Thank you for reacting; for many of us who have been in the World of Warcraft for almost 2 decades of storytelling, it’s been hard to explain to friends and family why.

[@sammyv4468]

I can't watch this without tearing up, everytime. Amazing work. Love your take on it, more of a professional insight. And yes Anduin has been through hell and back, he's a shell of a man but it seems he has the strength to fight back. Such a great role model actually in today's climate, mental health etc. Beautiful work as always from the team.

[@ari54x]

The blue-coloured flashback with the words "my son" is where he literally remembers his two father figures (his literal father is the one you hear) and they help him push back and overcome his enemy's mental domination and forced betrayal *on his own* when the player characters all need magic items to even resist. He was made to turn against his own beliefs and he is the key reason it was even possible for the villain to proceed with his plan in that story, and he was possessed by the soul of the franchise's most iconic villain. There's also so much subtle visual storytelling here. The pose Anduin strikes when he pulls his sword on Thrall is the same one said villain famously struck, both calling back to the cause of his trauma and making it clear that he has picked up more than just memories of trauma from his experience, without ever having to mention it. The subtle acting around the sword is great but he's also being literal when he says he has no Light- that hole in the sword used to be lit up with his own magic powered by his belief in his own righteousness. It's made even better by the fact that Warcraft's style is not usually subtle at all that we get all these little reinforcing touches of it even when they're just hammering home this big obvious dramatic moments. As to the giant sword- the central conceit to much of the story is that there's an extremely powerful being growing inside the planet and all of these opposed cosmic forces are trying to influence it. A previous villain, when he was being defeated, was essentially trying to pull a "if I can't have this power, none of you will!" type moment, but got pulled away before he could thrust his ridiculously large anime planet-sword all the way in. It's been sticking out of this desert for ages, we've essentially tried to stop the bleeding immediately afterwards, but there's been no real acknowledgement of what's going on with it since and none of the staff would talk about it, haha! So it's also an implicit acknowledgement that we might be finally finding out more of the details of what's going on with the sword as we go underground, or even doing something about the fact that there's a literal stabbing wound in the planet.

[@sergueirudakov6319]

This is trully on of the best reaction reviews I've seen =)

[@MrWogle1]

Alright, lore nerd here (literally have the Loremaster achievement in game). The orc is Thrall, and the human is Anduin Wryn. Thrall was the former war chief of the Horde, and Anduin is King of the Alliance (although he’s been taking time away for the last several years). Anduins body was taken under control by the Jailer, but his mind was aware of what was happening. He was made to do evil things against his will. The scene that it flashed to when Thrall touched his shoulder was a moment when Anduin was trying to resist the Jailers will, and the ghost of his father (Varian Wrynn) AND the orc Saurfang (Thralls now-deceased friend and mentor) both stood with him to help him break free of the Jailers will. Anduin was able to successfully break the control the Jailer had, but Anduin was this character of pure Light before this. He was a priest guided by kindness and goodness. This event of him doing evil caused him to kind of have a crisis of character. He could no longer lead the Alliance, and he believes he is no longer worthy of the Light. Thrall is probably the one person in the entire universe that can kind of understand what he’s going through. Thrall was a slave, and he learned how to wield the power of the elements. He actually became the most powerful shaman on Azeroth. He gave up the mantle of warchief to help save the world during Cataclysm. In his place, he left a bad orc named Garrosh Hellscream to run things. Garrosh caused a lot of problems, but he was a very strong warrior. The orcs have this tradition called “Mak’Gora”, which is basically a melee fight (magic is not allowed) to determine who should lead. Thrall challenged Garrosh, but couldn’t win without magic. So after Thrall used the power of the elements to defeat Garrosh, Thrall no longer felt worthy of the power of the elements. So when Thrall says “You are not your past”, it’s a hard-learned lesson that Thrall is trying to teach Anduin. The sword we see in the final shot was the sword that the evil Titan Sargeras plunged into the heart of Azeroth just before he was about to be imprisoned by the non-evil titans. Oh by the way, Azeroth, the world, has a titan world soul sleeping inside (or at least, that’s what we’ve been told).

[@PhilipHarts]

Woah! Awesome lore breakdown, thank you 🙏🏻

[@devin6272]

Rereading stormlight right now. That reference and the constant attention to detail with consistent explanations earned a sub and references to styles of each choice really kept me interesting and helped me appreciate what made this cinematic so special for me. Thanks so much.

[@johnwaters1768]

sorta TLDR- the voice in the visions is the voice of Azeroth, which is the planet itself. Not all planets have world souls, ours is apparently the last one, essentially they sleep until they emerge as celestial beings in the cosmos called titans which have a huge impact in the warcraft universe. For some time now weve been getting teased that azeroth is finally waking, and this is the first time we ever heard her voice. The sword comes from a seperate titan, Sargeras, who went mad and led legions of demons to wipe out life through the cosmos. In his final moments before being imprisoned by the other remaining titans, sargeras plunged his sword into the world, there is a chance he was trying to kill azeroth, a large chance, but there is also a chance he may have been trying to free her. Based on all of the lore, this moment in the trailer is the beginnings of a large battle between the forces of the cosmos, potentially over the soul of our world. Probably still missing a lot of context but hope that helps lol

[@filosuu]

Pretty on point. Just to add that Sargeras' mission was to destroy worlds infected by the old gods (shadow beings that corrupt everything nonstop and Azeroth was corrupted as well). For him, that was the only way to stop the corruption in the universe. He was stopped by the rest of the Titans and us players just after he stabbed the world.

[@johnwaters1768]

@@filosuu his plan actually was to destroy ALL life out of fear that if any life exists, the void might corrupt it. So he made the burning legion to wipe out all life because he said that the spark of life came from nothing once before, so it could happen again, and even if it didnt, wed all be better dead than living in a world where the void controls a titan and takes over. Technically he may have been lied to about the voids true intentions, because a dreadlord told him of the void's plan, and we know the dreadlords worked for the jailer but SL was terrible so i hope they ignore that

[@URSoDead2Me]

The part where Thrall says, "I trust you," didn't hit me like it should until you more or less explained it like you did. That scene means so much more now. You got a new sub and a like.

[@SuzakuX]

Anduin's performance and the tech driving it is really just next level. I hope they put out a behind the scenes, would love to see how detailed the character model and rigging is. Even the reddening of his eyes and welling if tears look true to life.

[@CallieCEntertainment]

Welcome to the world of Terran Gregory. I find it absolutely amazing that a person who has never seen this, the history, the storyline can so easily interpret (without realizing) what's been happening, and where we are now. Yep, that's how good he is, and how lucky WoW is to have him heading up these cinematics. And yeah, I always cry with these cinematics.

[@millerprime3979]

Honestly should check out the Old Soldier cinematic. It speaks volumes and quickly became my favorite WoW cinematic

[@laja6108]

That’s my favorite, too

[@RyseNN493]

Anduins part where he said “I am not that person anymore” hit me the same way anakins transition to darth vader hit me.

[@Sujichan]

Anduin had a hard life, but through it all the one thing he believed in most was The Light. He had a strong affinity for it. Profet Velen believed he would do great things, be a beacon when the world was at its darkest. He lost his mother when he was very young, and it broke his father in a way, and through things that happened to his father (King Varian Wrynn), lost his father in a sense. Anduin always found comfort in The Light and had to become mature at so young an age, even a child king until his father returned. He was 18 when his father was killed fighting The Legion, and at that time, war was brewing with the Horde. Anduin always strongly believed that there had to be a way to have peace, but he knew if it had to be a fight then he would fight. But the senseless loss of men and innocents weighed so heavy on his very soul that he released a war prisoner he hoped would help him depose a tyrant and win peace. When the said deposed tyrant captured him as well as others who opposed her, he still held to The Light, and even called it to him in the darkest part of "hell". He refused to give in, so they dominated his mind and made him into a killer. His own soul struggled, even managed to crawl through that domination once, but was overtaken. He did atrocious things, and even after being freed, he struggled. Was the satisfaction he'd felt at some of it his, or theirs? Lost, broken, unable to trust himself enough to even try to call on The Light, he walked away from the throne, his people and those he loved. Everyone else has forgiven him, know it wasn't him because he always had a peaceful soul, and trust in him, but he lost faith in himself. The sword was his father's. He found it when he went where his father was killed. Thrall, the Orc, is a shaman, used to be leader of the Horde, and is very attuned to the energies and lifeforce of Azeroth, their world. Oh, and World of Warcraft is for PC. It came out in the 2000s, but wasn't for PS2, always for PC.

[@charlayned]

Everyone else has given a good narrative of the story that leads up to this particular cinematic. I went through the files and got the actual visuals for the story. World of Warcraft has done a great job of going back into these and pulling out the story for the new The World Within cinematic. There are 12 of these, I’m giving the title, the name of the channel that has it, and the length of each. Where needed, I also give a quick name to the characters involved. These are not totally in order, there is a change in the in-game order for the Battle for Azeroth cinematics because Old Soldier actually comes before the announcement cinematic in chronology. I tried to stay with the official World of Warcraft channel but there are three that are no available through them so I got the best copies I could find for those. World of Warcraft Legion Cinematic Trailer-World of Warcraft 4:05 (photo of Anduin as a child in the compass of his father. The big gray worgen is the King of Gilneas, Genn Greymane) Death of Varian Wrynn: World of Warcraft Legion-Tom’s Hardware 4:07 (the man at the end is Genn) Patch 7.2 In-Game Cinematic: A Found Memento: Raising a King-World of Warcraft 2:51 (Anduin is seeing the memories of his father’s death) Sargeras Impales Azeroth Sword Cinematic/Illidan’s Sacrifice-Athelarius 3:35 (how the sword happened-the Titans deal with Sargeras) Cinematic: Old Soldier-World of Warcraft 6:21 (set-up for the war and Anduin’s friendship with Varok Saurfang, the troll is Zekhan) World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Cinematic Trailer 4:39 (Sylvanas, Genn, Anduin using his priest powers) Cinematic: “Lost Honor” World of Warcraft 3:18 (Anduin, Genn, and Saurfang) Cinematic: “Reckoning” (spoiler) World of Warcraft 4:12 (Saurfang and Thrall. Thrall is a shaman and the retired Warchief of the Horde) Anduin Finale Cinematic/Shadowlands Patch 9.2 Eternity’s End-LeystTV 3:52 (the end of the raid where Anduin finally breaks the Jailer’s hold on him) Sylvanas Windrunner & Anduin Epilogue Cutscene World of Warcraft Patch 9.25 LeystTV 2:45 (Anduin has to go find himself) Which is then connected to this one, the War Within Announce Cinematic that you commented on. Each of these has elements that are echoed in the War Within. It covers 2016 to 2023. Hope this helps.

[@Colard23]

Thank you very much, that's exactly what I was looking for

[@CarolineSelf]

💯

[@RushavMohanty]

You F-ing Legend! You connected Stormlight to WoW, forever changing how I see two of my favorite stories ever.

[@guyatanosavia8487]

Idk if anyone has mentioned it in the comments yet or not, but there was no Mo-cap in this cinematic. It was all hand-animated and rendered by the artists/studio using an actor as a reference. Which is just... mind boggling to me

[@Swake_au]

THE best reaction style. The constant broadcast of thoughts, professional insight in a tone that doesn't interrupt the video. Thank you so much!

[@claireharris8784]

Loved your analysis as it showed how essential a cinematographer is. The use of Anduin's musical theme was important, too, as it varied with his emotions.

[@Winningrose77]

Amazing how much you grasped and deduced from this. You sound like you understand better than some players I swear haha. Refreshing to hear such appreciation for the craft that goes into these, beyond the fidelity. Excellent content.

[@5p3cu10]

The voice capture was done first and then the animators created the visuals in response to the voice actors. I don't think i have ever seen anything in animation that manages to deliver so beautifully on music, sound effects, animation and acting. Absolute perfection. No mad explosios required. The pain from Anduins ptsd when Thrall puts his hand on Anduins shoulder is so clear on his face. It crushess any need for grandious over the top action. Absolutely incredible animation. There was no MoCAP states Blizzard

[@jenniferchoate5600]

I've been playing WoW since 2010, just after Cataclysm was released. I'm not a complete expert, but I do know enough. The orc is Thrall. Thrall was the Warchief of the Horde, the first one I believe after his father Durotan passed away, and is a Shaman (someone who can talk to spiritual beings as well as summon and control the Elements). Thrall has been a MAJOR character since Warcraft 1 - 3 back in the 90's I think. He also appeared in the Warcraft movie, as a newborn baby but he did make an appearance regardless, which I highly recommend watching since it shows how the Orcs arrived in Azeroth (the world this takes place in). Anduin is the King of Stormwind, the Human capital city, and one of the leaders of the Alliance Faction. He's definitely been through a lot over the years. He became King after his father, Varian Wrynn, passed away during the Legion Expansion, about 8 years ago?? I think. It's been a while. The World-Soul is what that glowing sphere and mysterious female voice was. The creator's of Azeroth, and several other planets, are what Blizzard calls the Pantheon of Titans. The Titans created Azeroth using the World-Soul and had also created the Dragon Aspects (who are featured heavily in the Dragonflight Expansion because, well, they're dragons) and as a consequence some of the races in Azeroth lile the dwarves, the Trolls, and from the Trolls came the Elven races. There is a LOT of Lore regarding this game that it is at times very overwhelming and confusing, but it's well thought out and I would recommend at least trying the game out at least once to see if you enjoy playing it. Thanks for taking the time to create and post this video!

[@angushunt204]

This is a great analysis, its cool to see you can interpret so much meaning and story through technique alone. I think its worth applying this analysis to the previous cinematics, especially the one about Saurfang, they will actually inform on this cinematic a lot more too.

[@oneevilchef]

I enjoy the honest reactions It's tough to find someone that reads body language, scenery, and tone in a similar fashion (Just subbed to watch more)

[@myracle001]

You popped up in my recommended and I'm absolutely LOVING this! Can't wait to watch some of your other Warcraft reactions!

[@Beardblade]

Anduin was imprisoned by a creature called the Jailer in the shadowlands expansion. He was controlled by him and forced to hurt people. After we defeated the jailer , Auduin left. He is the King of Stormwind

[@archoniteX]

No mocap was used for this! Actors played it out as reference and the rest was hand animated

[@vincentlefur4490]

you are the only person i've seen this far who noticed the same thing than me: when Thrall (the orc) press himself against the blade, the trembling stops. He's like an anchor, a shoulder for his friend to lean on and stay on his feet. Ironicaly Anduin says he has no light and his friend step forward to be his giding light.

[@MegaChickenfish]

Looking back on it, you can see how the *sword* in Anduin's hands has always symbolized things about him. From when his father wielded it, gleaming and powerful, to him finding it in the ashes of the Broken Shore, damaged and forgotten, to reigniting it with his own light. But then, to *bloodied* and damaged again, from Anduin's own actions in the Fourth War. He never felt he could live up to that legacy, yet even in this exile it's something he holds close.

[@Gamersglade]

If you knew the lore your reaction would be ten fold. The emotions running rampant in this cinematic are so viscerally great I can't even properly describe it lol. Thanks for your reaction and insight from a Filmmaker :)

[@sethpahre7165]

I agree completely. I loved his take on the stylistic choices. And if he knew the rupture going on in Anduin's heart, this reaction would have been even more poignant. I am so subscribed!

[@blerp6675]

A character in WoW with lore accurate PTSD is so good. Most people would have gone insane after what anduin went through with the jailer and inheriting Arthas' trauma and memories

[@nocturne1ts]

I love the cross over of universes you made with Stormlight to this. Definitely warmed my soul hearing you say Dalinar out of no where. Earned a follower for life.

[@MissClickGaming]

Absolutely fantastic reaction and analysis. I love the respect you show to a series you may not know much about. It's so rare. I would argue the story of WoW is truly the story of Anduin, so this piece is truly special in what we're to experience next in his life. I hope you do get to watch his other cinematics for a grasp of how much of a burden he has had to bear. The parallels and callbacks to previous pieces will surely strike you when you get to them. Can't wait to see those moments! ♥

[@MMOArlee]

Over the course of an expansion Anduin was kidnapped and them dominated by the big bad for that expansion. While he was being dominated he was forced to do a lot of terrible things, including fighting and trying to kill his friends and people he thinks of as family. His flashback (the soul shot) is him remembering the moment when he finally broke free, but he is only focusing on the struggle rather than the fact he succeeded. I can't wait to watch your other videos :)

[@Radriar___9946]

I knew you would say “Dune vibes” or “Stormlight vibes,” I got the same thing. This is def what I imagine a Stormlight show looking like. The facial capture really is top tier in this cinematic. Great analysis as always!

[@MsMirco2]

Really great reaction and analysis! I will try to provide some context regarding some moments in the trailer. 1.- The trembling, shivering, unrestness of Anduin while holding the sword, it's because it was Varyan's, his father, sword. Before, that sword held the power of the Light (given to those that live life with justice). During the "Legion" expansion, Varyan died, and Anduin became the king of Stormwind (the human kingdom). After that, in the next expansion (Battle for Azeroth), he led his people on a fight against the Horde, where little by little he started to think that the war had no meaning, and he was just making his men go to die. After that we go to the Shadowlands, the realm of the dead, where an entity called "The Jailer" was orchestating a plan to kind of "destroy/reset the world". Anduin was mind controlled by the Jailer, was shown and made to do atrocities, his fathers sword corrupted by said entity, and almost lost himself in the darkness. That's why he looks at the sword like that, and trembles a lot, he feels like he's not worth to wield it anymore, like he has failed both his father, and the light itself. 2.- The scene where his soul seems to be being "stripped away" is a moment in Shadowlands where we defeat him and he comes to his senses, he's having an internal battle between the Jailer's control and his own will. At that moment, the soul of Varyan touches his left shoulder, telling him that the sword was not meant to be used for darkness, that it was forged by Valor, and then the soul of Varok, an orc Anduin had a lot of respect for, touches his right shoulder, and tells him that the sword was also forged by honor (that's why he had that flashback when Thrall touched his right shoulder). 3.- There's two interesting things when he points the sword towards Thrall. The first one is the pose he does when pointing the sword at him: It's commonly referred to as the "Arthas pose" as it's the same pose that Arthas, the Lich King, made during the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic trailer. (During Shadowlands there were a lot of similarities between both of them. Both lost their light in pursue of their people's wellbeing, both became corrupted by an evil entity, both wielded a corrupted sword, etc) The other interesting thing is when Thrall looks at how Anduin is trembling, not only it shows that Anduin is nervous, uneasy, unsure of himself, but you can also see that his sword, which once had an orb of light, is now devoid of any light. Not because he's not really worth to carry the light, but rather because he thinks he can't be blessed by it anymore after what he's done under the Jailer's influence. 4.- The fact that Anduin is moved by Thrall's trust of him comes because when Sylvanas (the Warchief of the Horde during the war that happened in Battle for Azeroth), started to cause havoc against the alliance, Thrall (as well as Varok) aided him in trying to stop her. He also knows that Thrall has been one of the few Horde warchiefs that has worked towards diplomacy between the Alliance and the Horde, so all in all he also trusts Thrall. 5.- The fiery orb that "talks" to them is what a lot of the community suspect to be the soul of Azeroth (the planet the characters inhabit), it's said that planets have "world souls" that can grow into a Titan. Azeroth is known to have a really powerful "worldsoul", and as such, a lot of cosmic entities are trying to get ahold of it, to corrupt it for their machinations. It has been suffering the corruption of the Old Gods (which come from the cosmic forces of the "Void") for millenia, and it has been, more than once, attacked by the Legion, led by the Fallen Titan "Sargeras". Sargeras, during the end of the "Legion" expansion, stabbed Azeroth with his sword, causing it to start bleeding on the surface of the planet. This cinematic seems to imply that the wound of Azeroth has both heavily damaged her and probably reduced her defenses, causing her to be far more vulnerable to the corruption of the Old Gods. As such, and knowing that the characters (both the players and the important figures in the story) have been protecting her from these cosmic forces, she has started to call out all of her inhabitants, to ask them for their aid in putting a stop to these forces that are trying to corrupt her. 6.- This is more of a fun trivia, but the Sword of Sargeras was plunged into the planet back in the end of Legion, which occurred back in 2018. During the next 3 expansions (Battle for Azeroth, Shadowlands and Dragonflight), there was almost no mention of the effects the sword had on the planet aside from the blood of the planet coming out of the wound and greedy people wanting to mine the crystallized blood for profit. So this cinematic has that added punch of finally showing that the sword has harmed the planet and it's something we gotta take care of.

[@Valfara770]

Well, I wouldn't call myself a lore expert, but yeah, Anduin has been through some shit. He basically was badly traumatized by being captured, tortured and used as a puppet (literally controlled) by the "big bad". Before he was a quite pacifistic and optimistic young man. That really broke him. The ghostly vision was a memory when he was broken out of it by the ghost of his father. The orc is Thrall, who is THE orc in Warcraft. He also is voiced by Chris Metzen who is basically one of the creators of Warcraft. The sword was put there by Sargeras a Titan (one of the gods in this world) gone to the bad. Basically he wanted to kill the world soul (which is probably also the being calling out to them).

[@johnwaters1768]

and before he was captured by the jailer, his father was killed by a demon invasion that his best friend (wrathion) accidentally started on azeroth

[@Valfara770]

@@johnwaters1768 Not so sure about that accidential part :D

[@Enigma1788]

Some folks covered the basics of what's up with Anduin, but here's a little more context. When WoW started back in 2004, Anduin was a ten year old human prince. Some of these story elements are in the game itself, others are in various novels and comics. At ten years old, his father was missing and presumed dead, and while he eventually returns alive, the aftermath of those events lead to Anduin being captured by a dragon that manipulated events in an attempt to overthrow his kingdom. That's his first experience with death and seeing people die. It's all downhill from there. By the time he's 12, he has witnessed an undead invasion. Soon after, the reappearance of an old Warcraft villain was a catalyst for worldwide destruction, and he had to watch helplessly as friends and innocent were people killed in a massive earthquake. At 15, he is shipwrecked on a lost continent, circumstances lead to him nearly being crushed to death by Garrosh Hellscream (the orc that led the Horde after Thrall, and the one to re-ignite Horde/Alliance hostilities), and then he spends the next several months in great pain and slowly recovering. A chain of events lead to the return of the Burning Legion (essentially an army of demons) and his father dies when Anduin is 17. All he has wanted was peace between the Horde and Alliance, and now Anduin suddenly has to prove himself as a wartime leader against a demonic invasion. At 18, the new leader of the Horde (Sylvanas Windrunner, an undead elf) pushes Horde/Alliance tensions into a full blown war by committing genocide on the night elves by burning down the tree they lived in (in terms of scope and size when compared to a real world analogue, imagine if all of Midtown Manhattan suddenly caught fire). Anduin is once again leading during a war and seeing the death and destruction firsthand. Sylvanas eventually reveals herself to be out of her damn mind. She is ousted as the leader of the Horde, and while both sides are slowly starting to restore normal relations, about a year later Sylvanas manages to tear open a rift into what is essentially the Warcraft version of hell. Anduin is one of the people captured and then spends a fair amount of time imprisoned before becoming twisted and mind controlled into a weapon that is then used against innocents and his friends. Overall, he spends about a year either imprisoned in a hell dimension, or being used for evil purposes while fully aware of what he is being made to do. Upon being freed, he proceeds to spend the next five years traveling the world while suffering from extreme PTSD. In ten years, this man witnessed far more horrors, death, and destruction than even the average soldier in our modern world. One big disaster led into another before he could fully comprehend or recover from his previous experiences. The final straw that absolutely broke him was the mind control he went through. At that point, the only thing that has brought him any sense of peace was staying out of the affairs of the world for five years, but as Thrall notes in this cinematic trailer, time alone cannot heal all wounds.

[@kyrian232]

your observations and the way talk about this wow cinematic made me feel anduin pain all over again, thank you!

[@Dimology]

there is also an interesting and very specific thing about the sword that you can see right in the beginning of the animation, when he is holding it. The circle in the middle of the sword is empty, and there was always a glowing globe inside of it colored by person's essence wielding it. Since there is no glow, you quickly understand that Anduin lost the connection with Light. Swords name is Shalamayne, it is a dual sword that fuses into a single piece. It is ancient elven swords that was given to Anduin's father Varian Wrynn, a warrior and ex-gladiator. When Varian was wielding it, the glow was warrior red. When he was killed the swords were lost and Anduin went to find them on the shores where his father fell. When he found the swords the glow became yellow as the Light from Anduin infused the sword. When Anduin was captured by the Jailer, the sword was reforged in a mournblade and infused with the soul of Arthas, the Lich King and Domination magic, making the sword glow blue. During the fight with players in the game, Anduin is forced to sacrifice himself - that is the part in this animation when his father puts a hand on his shoulder. Anduin then splits the sword in two thus releasing the soul of the Lich King, breaking the Domination magic and setting himself free of control. But now we see that sword has no glow anymore, which prolly represents Anduin at this moment

[@cmmcfielful]

The scene where Anduin is on his knee, hand on his shoulder hearing "My son". The sword Anduin is holding was once his fathers but that is the same sword that was infused with Arthas's soul and in doing so bound Anduin to the Jailor allowing the Jailor to use Anduin as a tool. At the end of the expansion we beat Anduin in the raid and we essentially allow him to free himself from the grasp but the "My son" came from his deceased father telling him that he and the sword are not bound to death but to Valor and Honor and that they will walk with him in his path to freedom. After hearing this motivation he broke the sword, freed himself and Arthas' soul remnants and ended the Jailors grip on his mind

[@Celticshade]

the art team on blizzard trailers and cinematics are world class, and have been for the last 20 years. its unbelievable how good the original game cinematic looks if you see it.

[@lordmortarius538]

Terran Gregory is the cinematic lead for Blizzard, and he does incredible work. He was actually hired by them back in the day after doing an excellent machinima titled "Return" using the ingame WoW engine that put him on their radar. Also, Anduin is only like mid-20's at this point, so you can really see all the shit he's gone through in his complexion, the lines on his face, the weathering. It's pretty incredible.

[@mrsthehotdogdance]

I've played the game for years, and hearing someone who hasn't been involved react so strong and positively makes me feel like a proud parent. You said you weren't expecting that from World of Warcraft, but we know how powerful the cinematics team is.

[@larskeizer]

what makes this even better is that the whole cinematic is hand-crafted, not even motion capture. Actors have performed in front of the artists, as well as say lines to see how the lips move, but it has been fully hand-crafted. Incredible

[@deathbreach3448]

I like how in the beginning, they address Anduin’s war within himself, only for the reveal of an even larger battle within the world

[@MMOcritic]

The fact that you no nothing about the Warcraft universe and you so perfectly describe what he’s going through within 25 seconds. Blew me away. I immediately subbed. Excited to watch your content

[@agentdangercup9218]

Something I haven't seen people really talk about; is how tragic it is for him to be carrying that sword. It's one the only things he has of his father, but it's also the tool the jailer used to take control of him and have em commit all those atrocities. I'd like to see that play into his character.

[@shushuda]

I'm not sure if someone mentioned it before, but there is no mocap. The only cinematics with mocap in WoW are the ones in Battle for Azeroth. Everything else is entirely hand animated. They have a live performance but it's used only as a reference, they don't mocap this. The only performance, therefore, is that of the voice actors and of that initial reference material. The animation itself is entirely hand crafted.

[@MMMRATTY]

The blue-washed scene is a remake of the in-game cinematic from when Anduin broke free from the Jailer's domination. his father was on the right, and Saurfang (another Orc that was close to both Thrall and Anduin - and whom you do not see in that flashback) was on the left. Thrall grasping his shoulder triggered his anxiety, I think, and probably sent him into self-preservation mode and triggered his response. This cinematic is a cornucopia of call backs, including the sword draw of Shalamayne (his father's sword) which reflected the Lich King's drawing of Frostmourne in the WOTLK expansion cinematic, though Anduin's response is one bathed in anxiety, fear, and desperation, whereas Arthas' was one of supreme confidence. At least that is how I perceive it.

[@PapaDeusVult]

Hey, Philip. I've been watching your videos for a while now and I was content to just lurk and enjoy. I've been a fan of Blizzard for a long time and was a player of their MMORPG World of Warcraft. Though, I've pretty much taken a step back from anything related to their titles from a mix of life getting busy, being able to experience other MMORPGs made by other companies, and just the general feeling of having outgrown Warcraft. It happens; we outgrow things that we once loved, though that doesn't mean we stop caring altogether-no matter the direction it takes. Someone will probably have written this down, but-as someone who has enjoyed the lore of Warcraft for a long time, as I've said-I wanted to try my hand at telling you some context about these two characters. Naturally, it won't be perfect because there are a lot of things that you can only truly know-truly experience-through a visceral and in-depth look at the media that have come out over the years to present events in Warcraft history. Fair warning, it'll also probably be LONG. I'd like to start with Anduin. He first appeared in the base game of World of Warcraft, which players have lovingly called Vanilla WoW. At the time, he was around 8-10 years old; he was the Crown Prince of the human kingdom of Stormwind, the son of King Varian Wrynn, and the latest in a storied line of warrior-kings. However, Anduin was anything but. He wasn't very physically strong, he was more bookish and scholarly, and took to very little when it came to warfare and being a strong and stoic statesman. In Anduin's appearance in Vanilla WoW, King Varian has since gone missing en route to a summit to discuss the state of the Alliance and Horde. Without the king, it fell to Anduin-again, a young boy of 8-10-to rule in his father's stead as king-regent. Naturally, he had two advisors to aid him in the more complicated matters of statecraft and war. One was a Paladin, Bolvar Fordragon, who was a long-time friend of the royal family through history, and another was an influential noblewoman, Katrana Prestor. As many stories often do, it's revealed in time-through the game or external media-that Katrana Prestor was a traitor whose true name was Onyxia, a scion of the Black Dragonflight who had taken a human guise. Theirs is the only faction of dragons in Warcraft that does not hold the stewardship of the world as sacred due to the madness of their patriarch, Neltharion the Earth-Warder. Though, contemporary historians would come to know him as Deathwing the Destroyer, because that is precisely what he wants to do with the world. With Onyxia revealed, thwarted, and slain, King Varian Wrynn was able to return to his kingdom and take his rightful place as its ruler. Anduin returned as his father's right hand and Crown Prince of Stormwind. In time, Anduin would find himself following a path quite different from his warrior father. As if to counterbalance the stoic and fierce nature of his father, Anduin instead honed in on his diplomacy, his wit, and eventually a connection to the Holy Light-just like Bolvar Fordragon (the Paladin) had before him. But since Anduin was not a physically gifted young man, his path into the Light would see him become a Priest instead. Where his father was an uncompromising, strong-willed and fierce warrior king, Anduin proved himself to be merciful, compassionate, and willing to compromise in the name of peace. In one of the expansions-World of Warcraft: The Mists of Pandaria-Anduind volunteered to sail to a once-hidden landmass called Pandaria that was revealed when Deathwing the Destroyer broke the world an expansion earlier in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm as an attempt to wipe out all life. On the island of Pandaria, Anduin's role was to be an envoy of the Alliance to treat with the natives of the land, the Pandaren. Though, he-and the Alliance-was not the only one who thought to sail to Pandaria. The Horde did, as well. It was in the events surrounding Pandaria that Anduin had a taste of what war was actually like. His virtues and beliefs were put to the test in the face of a Horde Warchief, Garrosh Hellscream-a brutal conqueror and warlord who would not back down from anything. Ultimately-even at nearly mortal cost to himself-Anduin kept to his principles and maintained his integrity as a Priest and the Crown Prince of Stormwind. Some time after, the Burning Legion-a cosmic force of demons bent on scouring the universe of all life-invaded the world of Azeroth for a third time in World of Warcraft: Legion. The forces of the Alliance and Horde rallied to the invasion point, and King Varian Wrynn lost his life in the fighting. Unprepared, Anduin was crowned King of Stormwind. He was torn in many directions; Anduin wanted to know what was best for his people, if they believed he would live up to his father's legacy, and if he had the means to stand up to a demonic invasion. This would be one of Anduin's most harrowing moments, and it would not stop there. Though the demonic invasion was ultimately thwarted by the combined forces of the world, conflict on Azeroth is an ever-present thing. Worse yet, the reason for the conflict began when Sargeras-a corrupted cosmic being known as a Titan, and leader of the Burning Legion-stabbed his sword into the surface of Azeroth as a final attempt to destroy the planet before being sealed away, and his legions of demons scattered. In the aftermath of Sargeras' blade striking and wounding the world, the Alliance and Horde discovered a new resource that was essentially the blood of the planet. Their war was renewed in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, with the Blood of Azeroth at its heart. As king, Anduin was faced time and time again with the harrowing death toll of his soldiers and his people. The war came to a close when it was revealed by parties intent on saving the Horde's integrity that the current Warchief at that time, Sylvanas Windrunner-a formidable and cunning undead Elf ranger-was working for a sinister cosmic force behind the scenes. In the following expansion, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, a number of Azeroth's key personages-Anduin included-were spirited away into an in-between realm that is essentially the realms of death and afterlives of mortal beings. At the head of this plot was a cosmic entity known as The Jailer, who-to facilitate his machinations-used Anduin as an unwilling vessel to infiltrate a realm that only he could conceivably enter and retrieve a key item that the Jailer needed. But given that the magic wielded by the Jailer was dominion over the soul of an individual, Anduin's was inevitably affected by his time in the Shadowlands as both captive and unwilling pawn of the Jailer. In the aftermath of the Shadowlands, Anduin resolved to take some time alone-years, it would seem-in order to come to terms with what he was forced to do as the Jailer's pawn. And this leads us to the present cinematic.

[@PapaDeusVult]

All right, I know I went on a bit of a long tirade there, but I still want to keep to my word and talk about the other character and his context-even if KZbin wanted to understandably cut my rather long-winded explanation. The Orc is named Thrall, and he was a former-and honestly most revered-Warchief of the Horde. You said you only played Warcraft, so you'll require some context here: When Warcraft 2-and subsequently Warcraft 3-rolled around, Blizzard was poised to write their Orcs to be differently nuanced to all other media. They gave the Orcs a rich if savage, tribal culture, but were ultimately manipulated into serving the machinations of a demonic lord of the Burning Legion. Such manipulations and corruptions led to the wars that happen in Warcraft 1 and Warcraft 2. After the defeat of the Orcish Horde in Warcraft 2, the Orcs that invaded Azeroth were put into interment camps to serve as prisoners, and it seemed like their fate was all but written to be nothing more than villains. But one infant Orc was found by an ambitious human warlord named Aedelas Blackmoore. He adopted the baby as something of a pet and named him Thrall, and trained him to serve as prize pit fighter. Through some events in Thrall's adolescence, the young Orc would be freed and come to learn of his heritage, his parentage, and the recent history of his people. Thrall would also take up the ancient tradition of Shamanism and would-in the events of Warcraft 3 and beyond-be known as the greatest Orc shaman of his time. Thrall would meet with two former warlords of their respective Orc clans, Grommash Hellscream of the Warsong Clan, and Orgrim Doomhammer of the Blackrock Clan. Grommash or Grom would become Thrall's best friend, and Orgrim-who was the best friend of Thrall's father, Durotan-would become something of a mentor. Together, they slowly raided each and every interment camp and freed their people. When Orgrim fell in battle, he gave Thrall his black armor and the Doomhammer, a storied and ancient granite warhammer that was passed down from father to son in Orgrim's lineage. From then on, Thrall would be known as Warchief of the Horde, and he was intent on returning the Orcs to their ancient roots before they were twisted by the Burning Legion just a couple of decades prior. In the events of Warcraft 3, Thrall would be told by a mysterious stranger to sail west to the forgotten ancient lands of Kalimdor. On the journey and upon arrival on Kalimdor, Thrall would take in races that would one day form a part of the Horde he would come to build. The mysterious stranger then revealed that his purpose for sending Thrall to Kalimdor was to aid in thwarting the second invasion of the Burning Legion. Elsewhere, in one desperate skirmish upon arriving on Kalimdor, Grom Hellscream and his warriors were manipulated into consuming the very demon blood that doomed their race to begin with. Thrall-with the aid of a human mage called Jaina Proudmoore-would be able to suppress Hellscream's demonic corruption, and set out to confront the demon lord that turned them into demonic slaves almost an entire generation before. Though Grom Hellscream died in the battle, it was the blow from his battle-axe that freed the Orc race from their corruption. In the aftermath of the demonic invasion, Thrall and his Horde stayed on Kalimdor and settled the red and barren deserts they would come to call Durotar and establish an Orcish stronghold city that they would call Orgrimmar. During the first expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, Thrall met Garrosh Hellscream and told him-a son ashamed of his father Grom's actions that damned his people-of the heroics and noble sacrifice that led to the freedom and redemption of the Orcs. Thrall would go on to take Garrosh under his wing as a commander of the Horde. Fast-forward to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, when Deathwing the Destroyer broke the world, Thrall was needed for his strong shamanistic connections to aid in calming the rampaging elemental spirits of the world. Unable to leave the seat of Warchief unfilled, Thrall appointed Garrosh for the role against his better judgment, as the younger Hellscream had proven himself to be a fierce and uncompromising warrior, but lacked the qualities needed for the nuances in maintaining the tenuous peace between the Alliance and Horde. Eventually, Garrosh's ambitions would lead Thrall to feel responsible for the lives lost and broken beyond repair, and challenged his once-commander to a duel of honor. Though the duel ultimately ended in Thrall's victory, he could not overcome Garrosh's raw strength as a seasoned and veteran warrior. Calling the aid of the elements, Thrall put down Garrosh once and for all, but sullied his sense of personal honor that was sacred to all Orcs. Ultimately, this led to the fading of his shamanistic connection as the elements refused to come to his aid during World of Warcraft: Legion. In the events of World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth, Thrall contented himself in living as a family man with his wife and their children on the broken world that the Orcs once called home before they invaded Azeroth. He was convinced to come out of hiding and fight against the tyranny of Sylvanas Windrunner by one of his old friends and High Overlord of the Horde, Varok Saurfang. After the events of Battle for Azeroth that culminated in the death of Saurfang and the revelation of Sylvanas' treachery, Thrall ultimately stepped in not as Warchief but as the Orcish part of a council intended to divide power amongst racial leaders, rather than a singular figurehead. In World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Thrall was among those who were spirited away into the Shadowlands, and tortured by Sylvanas as revenge for thwarting her. Though Thrall was subject to horrors unimaginable, he nevertheless survived and managed to recover himself after some time to convalesce both his body and soul. And-just like Anduin-this brings us to the cinematic. Again, I apologize if this got a bit long-winded, Philip. I did give a fair warning in the above parts of this comment that it would probably drag on. But, I hope you get a chance to read it. Once again, it's not much to give you the fullest picture, but I'm confident that it'll provide even a glimpse into the lore as we know and love it. Thank you for taking the time to read this if you do

[@anthonyschwartz1084]

It is crazy that we have been following Anduin since he was a child. Saw him struggle to be helpless and not able to contribute as he wanted to growing up. Losing his father in the pits of hell and being moraly corrupted to do someone elses dark bidding. He was a person who was filled with light, and was consumed by complete darkness. It is nice to see, that he is starting to become the King, he was always meant to be. Edit: The sword plays such a major role, because it was his fathers sword. Edit2: The "My son, scene" is when he is being torn internally because his soul has been fractured and is being dominated by a 'hades' like character. This is the scene where he breaks from his chains, and is where he was in his darkest moment. Edit3: The Orc is also a shaman who lost all his powers with nature at one point. They are similar in this scene, because Anduin has lost his connection to the light, which is his source power.

[@Ferdawoon]

The cinematic has a LOT of backwards references. The half-sphere we hear whispering is (we think) the soul of the World. It has the same colour-scheme as the Blood of the planet that we collected in the expansion after the planet was stabbed by the large sword we see at the end. if it is indeed the Worldsoul calling out to us, it will be the first time we hear its voice. It could also be trickery but I think consensus is that it's the Worldsoul (in short, the planet that we play on, Azeroth, is the cocoon of a Worldsoul, a planetsized entity). As @joveonlightbringer9684 mentions Anduin (the human) is a trained Priest and has been extremely powerful with the Holy Light (kind of a divine magic in a world where there is no "one true God" and instead access to the Light comes from Conviction and determination. If you are unsure about yourself, the Light might not respond). All his life he's been a very Holy and pure person, but recently he's been doubting himself and at the end of a recent expansion he was mindcontrolled to do evil stuff. He mentions that he realized he liked it, and that he had a darkness inside him that he had no idea existed. This insecurity and fear of what he really is makes him scared to call on the Light in case it doesnt actually respond to him. Yes he lives in fear that he's been abandoned, but to him it is better to be unsure than call for the Light and find nothing.. When World of Warcraft started he was just a little kid standing in the courtroom, and here he is all grown up.. Thrall, the Orc, is a powerful Shaman who previously went through a similar arc. He thought he was not worthy, and didn't dare call the Elements in case they had actually forsaken him, plus he felt that he was not worthy of the Elements trust in him. Shamans basically makes a deal with the elements of Air, Earth, Water and Fire (and Spirit) that they will honor the balance in nature and keep things in order and in return the elements grant the Shamans their abilities to heal friends with Water, or to cast fire or lightning at their enemies. Here Thrall use his connection with the Earth, and the Spirit of the planet, to try to listen (when he places his hand on the ground). In general, there are loads of cinematics related to this world, KZbin videos with "all cinematics, in order" can be 6-7 hours long and that's not even including the cinematics of the current expansion. The first Game intro cinematics were mostly about showing off a cool new world, new classes and new races but with the first expansion they added a bit of a story framing and with Wrath of the Lich King they started to focus on story in their trailers a bit more. "Wrath of the Lich King" was the first expansion with an ingame cinematic (pre-rendered but using ingame assets and models) and recently they have been making a lot of high-def cinematics mixed with pre-rendered and even scripted (where they "create" the cinematic as it's triggered because then they can also show the player character as part of the cinematic). If you want to embark on a journey, see if you can find a compilation and go through them. Partly for the story but also for some amazing cinematics and performance. No matter what players think of the gameplay of each expansion we all feel that the Art and Cinematics teams are always top tier.

[@terezapinca4664]

I actually didnt like this much when I first saw it because it was so different and not what I expected from WoW. But now I"ve seen it like 4 times and I love it !! The detail, the performance.... beautiful.

[@xXDoUbLeDDXx38]

You have to keep in mind, Trall and Anduin are on opposing factions Horde/Alliance. So seeing the development in their relationship is really cool the storytelling is amazing. Also one of the best CGI humans I've ever seen, normal you feel off put but this genuinely looks real!

[@Ventorath]

I still agree, but Anduin has literally always been buddy buddy with major Horde characters. That part isn't really development for him.

[@cyndrigaming]

Its really neat to see someone with an outside perspective to the game react to the cinematic. Anduin is really a character the players have grown up with. His father, King Varian Wrynn, made a sacrificial honorable play against the army of Demons, known as the Legion. And Anduin was left with the heavy burden of filling the shoes of his father, as well as leading not only his Kingdom, but the entire faction of the Alliance. The sword he wields is indeed his Father's. Anduin has always upheld his beliefs as wishing for peace but understanding when conflict is needed. He has a good, strong heart, but a bit ago, he was captured and through the use of Domination Magic, he was made to do awful things. Basically was a passenger in his own body- cursed to watch all of the atrocities 'he' committed, unable to stop it. And in the final raid of the prior expansion, we fight him and weaken him enough that a vision of his father (and another father-like figure) help him break free from his domination prison. (The flashback of the blue silhouette is a callback to this). After being freed and saved, he was not yet ready to return to leading. He needed time to process all that he went through. The Orc there is a great character as well, Thrall, formerly a powerful Shaman (a bit of a self insert by Chris Metzen who both voices him as well as made most of Warcraft what it is). These characters put the world of Azeroth first, rather than the faction war. As you said with base Warcraft, its usually Horde vs Alliance. Orcs vs Humans. (this is a big reason why a good portion of the player base is ready to move past the whole faction divide in game, since whenever theres a big world ending threat, we team up with the other faction to stop it anyway. The hero characters like Anduin, Thrall, Jaina, Baine etc. do not fight amongst themselves despite being from different factions. they fight together.) The Sword was plunged into the world a few expansions ago when one of the Titans, Sargeras, learned of a potential fate of the world soul of Azeroth (the voice we hear in this cinematic), and decided that if he couldn't have her, no one could. And he stabbed the world in an attempt to kill her but was pulled away by his fellow Titan counterparts. Its been a bit of a joke the past few years because the sword has barely been addressed until now. Even at the Blizzcon where this was announced, the Devs were wearing shirts that said "what sword?" lol The name War Within I think both addresses the conflict within several of our characters like Anduin, as well as the literal expansion itself taking place beneath the surface of the world.

[@Peter24601]

Forget live action, I would pay good money to watch a full length feature film with this animation. This kind of drama in a film would kick ass and make millions.

[@cavalier40]

Taliesin and Evitel have a great video on the lore and emotional background on this cinematic

[@Rob-lt6gb]

I was astounded by the animation quality, but mainly the performance as you say. Whoever they got in for that absolutely nailed it. Also great content, very interesting to hear your point of view on this.

[@RyanofAndor]

Josh Keaton is the voice actor for Anduin. Chris Metzen (who also created the Warcraft universe) is the voice of Thrall.

[@blacksteedofdeath5808]

your reaction is so different than most I run across. nice job, very nice. thanks

[@Shosara]

What i like about these reactions from professional filmmakers (first time here, hi!) to WoW Cinematics is how it showcases the insane skill and proficiency of the Cinematic team. these 5 minute rendered Cinematics usually encompass story development of the past years, sometimes decades, and without any lore background, every single detail of the context and relation between Anduin and Thrall has been successfully picked up by you from what they put down. Awesome!

[@ausmac5287]

Thrall is the greatest living orc, he was the Orc who formed the Horde, effectively and established its capital city. He is very famous and his relationship with the leader of the opposite faction (which Anduin effectively is, although he is absent from the post right now due to all that has happened to him) gives their relationship a special quality. The quality of this cinematic is yet another step up in the amazing artistic abilities of their graphics team. As a side note, Thrall's voice is provided by a man called Chris Metzen who is also probably the person most loved by WoW players and is one of the original creators of Warcraft and is the current Executive Creative Director of the Warcraft games. Nobody can rise up an audience at the annual Blizzcons like Chris can. He IS the Warchief of the Horde (:

[@RushavMohanty]

Love stabilizing hurt is one of the most profound takes on the sword shivering scene.

[@Arterion77]

To understand some of the references in this video like the line about not getting to hide and how Thrall says he trusts him and the chemistry between these two characters, watch the cinematics from Battle for Azeroth and the Anduin cinematics from Shadowlands. The character development is amazing and I am so happy to see it

[@gatsuyatsu]

2:12 this gave me chills, you are on point with this comparison. I would do anything for a proper Stormlight adapation!

[@PhilipHarts]

Oh man…. Same!! I think we’ll get it eventually!

[@Bukal9209]

Each WoW cinematic is incredible. This one was very cinematic, not really a game trailer we are used to. I think the moment where it all shined, but mostly on the audio side was when the sword touches the leather. That deep boom sound but barely hearable... damn that was on point.

[@RobTucker83]

That Stormlight shoutout is so accurate. That’s a film series I’d love to see one day.

[@Daniel73-23]

If you're wondering about the line " . . . what I've done." It's very similar to what Capt. Picard went through. The two characters, Anduin, and Picard, have a lot in common. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqbdoKuZeteCmZo --- Picard explains how it is.

[@DoneBrokeDatBack]

Dude. Subbed to you. Absolutely love all this. Can't wait to see more, my friend.

[@aurhiaseelund]

Blizzard's cinematics are always top notch. I find it interesting that having no knowledge of any of the lore, you were still so affected by it. That's a testament to the cinematic team, I think. Almost every exchange hearkens back to some earlier piece of story here, both in dialogue and visuals, which adds another layer of complexity to the storytelling in it. This is definitely the best cinematic to date, but they're all good. I recommend coming back to this one again after you've gotten a wider view of the story. Other people have already given a pretty good synopsis of his basic lore, but I want to add that for people who were invested in the story and playing on Alliance side, we watched him grow up from a small orphaned child to a young man who had one of the strongest connections to the Light (holy mystical power) that existed, who most people looked up to as a beacon, who wanted to be a man of peace, an idealist, who slowly had everything stripped away from him and still struggled to stay an idealist. He was our boy prince. When Horde attacked the capital, we rallied in his name to fight them off. Sure, it's a video game, but the community ties between players are real, and Anduin was a touchpoint for the Alliance, at least back in the day he was. I don't even play Alliance anymore, but the one part of the Shadowlands expansion I followed was Anduin's story. Seeing him like this is heartbreaking.

[@rhodey4759]

I love the first thing you said was it looked like it was someone going through some stuff. Anduin was possessed and made to do some very bad things. He's also a new king of the human empire after his father was killed in battle. Dude has a lot on his plate right now but he is from the Wrynn family and they are hard as nails so he will get through it