THE LORE
Everyone in the 21st century has either played or heard of the insanely popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. But Friday film Warcraft, directed by Duncan Jones, is based on Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the real-time online strategy game that started it all. It will focus on the First War, between the orcs from Draenor and the humans of Azeroth.

According to Warcraft lore (backstory), Draenor was a lush green planet where the orcs lived peacefully till they started becoming more aggressive under the control of a warlock called Gul’dan who taught magic to other young orcs and created the Horde. Their magic slowly killed the planet and Gul’dan and the wizard Medivh from Azeroth opened a Dark Portal, that helped the orcs invade Azeroth.  

On Azeroth, King Llane Wrynn, the ruler of the kingdom of Stormwind, and the commander of his armies Anduin Lothar, with the help of the  mage Khadgar, rally the forces against the Horde. 

WoW fans will not get Thrall for sure, but they can look forward to familiar names like Durotan and Orgrim Doomhammer.

THE HUMANS

MEDIVH
Played by: Ben Foster
A powerful magician and the last Guardian of Tirisfal, he was corrupted by the essence of a demon lord before birth, which leaves him in a state of constant internal conflict. He, along with orcish warlock Gul’dan, opens the Dark Portal between Azeroth and Draenor helping the orcish Horde invade.

ANDUIN LOTHAR
Played by: Travis Fimmel
Anduin Lothar is the last true descendant of the ancient Arathi bloodline, he is a knight champion of the Kingdom of Azeroth and the supreme commander of King Llane Wrynn’s armies during the First War and of the Alliance formed towards the end of the First War. Anduin is a charismatic leader who, despite his emotionless appearance, is deeply passionate about his people.

KHADGAR
Played by: Ben Schnetzer
He is a young wizard and Medivh’s apprentice. He unravels Medivh’s plans to open a portal between Azeroth and Draenor. He becomes a very powerful wizard in Azeroth. 

KING LLANE WRYNN
Played by: Dominic Cooper
The ruler of Azeroth (later known as the Kingdom of Stormwind) is a noble man who believes that all the orcs are not bad. He accepts Garona Halforcen for who she is and hopes that she can be a bridge between the two races.

THE ORCS

GARONA HALFORCEN
Played by: Paula Patton
As her name suggests, she is a half-orc. Though she is half-dranei, a blue-skinned humanoid creature from Draenor, she believes she is half-human. This strong-willed female is caught between the Alliance and the Horde. She is captured by the humans but King Llane frees her in return for her loyalty to Stormwind.

ORGRIM DOOMHAMMER
Played by: Robert Kazinsky
Orgrim is the closest friend of Durotan. Was the most trusted lieutenant of orcish war chief Blackhand and led many of the battles till he discovered Gul’dan’s plans. Orgrim is a gruff creature and fearless in battle. He believes in leading from the front.

GUL’DAN
Played by: Daniel Wu
An orcish shaman who became the first and the most powerful orcish warlock, Gul’dan was the creator of the first orcish Horde. He betrays his people to a demon lord for personal gain and power. He organises the invasion of Azeroth with the help of Medivh.

DUROTAN
Played by: Toby Kebbell
Durotan is the chief of the Frostwolf clans and is a sensitive creature (yes, looks can be deceptive). Durotan was one of the only chiefs who kept opposing warlock Gul’dan and his puppet, Blackhand. Durotan and his entire clan was exiled by Gul’dan in Azeroth. His only friend was Orgrim Doomhammer who later becomes the warchief.

THE FANS

I have been excited about Warcraft ever since it was announced in 2006. My favourite character in the games is Illidan Stormrage, a demon-hunter who unfortunately does not make an appearance till later in the storyline. As far as the movie goes, I am eager to see how Orgrim Doomhammer’s character turns out. He is a total badass from the Blackrock clan. He plays the secondary leader to the orcs. Also happens to be best friends with Durotan, the lead protagonist for the Horde. His weapon is the Doomhammer and when I saw it in a Shanghai store I just had to buy it! Honestly I have been waiting for the movie to come out for over nine years — Vivek Banerjee, second officer in merchant navy

Seeing a movie based on one of your favourite games is extremely exciting! Warcraft’s storymode and its storymode cinematics have been no less than a movie. I’m really curious to see how they’ve topped it in the film! My favourite character from the games is Illidan the demon-hunter and Thrall the orc warchief! Every gamer likes a character and plays him according to his or her own personality. So the character personality has to somehow match the one in the game. The portrayal of the character from someone else’s point of view will be interesting 
— Kunal Vasa, businessman

I am excited about seeing Azeroth in the movie. It’ll be lovely to see how orcs and humans fight in the film. Because these are one of the oldest races in Warcraft. In the game a group of five to 25 men raid a certain location. In the film they are probably going to show the same raiding concept with different classes among each race. It’ll be lovely to see how each character works together to fight the opponent faction with their numerous spells and racial abilities on a big screen — said Sunny Naik, businessman

Warcraft, directed by Duncan Jones, is releasing today