
A movie poster is designed to form your first impressions of a movie. Poster for Warcraft: The Beginning is distinctively detailed and eye-catching. It shows many different characters and has drastic changes in character sizes. There are a lot of hidden secrets in the artwork itself that only World of Warcraft players would know about. The detail put into this movie poster makes it clear that it is directed towards a specific audience. It also shows the stereotypical good vs. evil color scheme.

Just by looking at the characters and the artwork, it is apparent that this movie is geared to a very specific audience. In this case it is the players and fans of the well known game series Warcraft. Because the movie is based off of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, or Warcraft 1, there are not many different races represented within the movie. The artist uses the two main races and two classes that are apparent in the game and incorporates them into the main characters and support characters in the film to show that everyone has banded together on either world to prepare for the oncoming war. The use of this idea is key for representing that the war will be a multi-world war.

One of the main features of the poster is a sword which divides the artwork in half. Not only is this symbolic of the actions-filled nature of the film, it also foreshadows the plot. The sword has represented adventure in popular movies such as The Hobbit, where the main characters go on an adventure using their swords to fight battles along the way. The subtle writing at the bottom of the poster, “Two Worlds. One Destiny” also supports that there will be action because it resembles that there are two different sides that want the same thing, hence the poster being divided in half. Just like in the movie, 300, if there are two groups that want the same thing for different reasons, they will break out into an all out war to try and obtain it. The artist also uses fictional characters such as orcs and mages which represents that this movie also falls under the fantasy category.

The artist has a unique way of foreshadowing what will happen in the movie and what is to come after the movie. The thousands of soldiers with no distinguishable features on both sides fighting at the bottom of the poster represents there will be a number of countless deaths and major battles that will break out during the movie. There is a subtle but very distinctive shadow of a dragon, which would at first appear to be out of place due to there not being any dragons features in the first Warcraft game. This could very well be implying that there will be a dragon in a future movie. By entitling the film Warcraft: the Beginning, it is implied that this is the first in a series and that there is more to come.  The hammer that Orgim is holding is called “Doomhammer” and it is weapon that becomes very famous later in the game timeline. Showing these few things that become prominent later in the game series shows that the artist is foreshadowing that there could possibly be another movie coming out at a later time. 

The artists’ use of vivid blues and reds gives the viewer the dramatic effect of good and evil. The concept of using contrasting colors to represent two opposing forces prominent in many pieces of art such as the Batman vs. Superman movie poster and the Harry Potter 7 pt. 2 poster. The blue side of the poster shows humans and overall better looking characters which gives you a connection and makes you feel empathy towards them. The red side shows ugly orcs and the human that doesn’t agree with the main character from the blue side. As a human being, you are subconsciously leaning towards the side of the other humans and away from the orcs. As any World of Warcraft player should know, Garona is a half orc and therefore should look less mixed and greener in skin tone. Although, the artist could have deliberately done this so viewers could create a bond with her more easily. By creating a bond with one or multiple characters, you can begin to feel sentiment and emotion for them.

 The artist very clearly distinguishes the main characters from the supporting characters by changing the sheer size of their bodies and heads and also changing the amount of detail put into the art. By looking at the poster, you can tell that the two top people will be the most vital characters to the movie, due to the amount of detail on their faces. Then there are the five smaller characters which you can assume to be the supporting characters, because of their size and positioning. Finally, there is the whole army that in this case is just background and filler, since they have little detail. 

Art has been used to tell stories for centuries, and movie posters are no different. Their influence is how people are able to form opinions before even viewing the films. By understanding what a movie poster is trying to show you, you can truly understand what the movie will be about.   Whether it is use of red and blue to create contrast, the amount of detail put into the art, secrets in the poster itself, or even the fore shadowing of a different time, the poster the artist created is a key piece to the way you perceive a movie. 