Warcraft: The Beginning is streaming on Netflix as of May 13, 2026. Released in French cinemas on May 25, 2016, Duncan Jones’s adaptation of Blizzard Entertainment’s video game universe revisits the early tensions between the kingdom of Azeroth and the orcs fleeing a dying world.
Warcraft: The Beginning
Film | 2016
In theaters: May 25, 2016
Available on Netflix since May 13, 2026
Action, adventure, fantasy | Runtime: 2h04
Directed by Duncan Jones | Screenplay: Charles Leavitt, Duncan Jones
Starring: Travis Fimmel, Toby Kebbell, Paula Patton
Original title: Warcraft
Country: United States
The realm of Azeroth comes under threat as orc warriors, fleeing their own world, march through a portal in search of a new land. As one people faces annihilation and the other teeters on the brink of extinction, two figures from opposing sides must defend their communities in a clash that engulfs families, nations and territories.
Warcraft: The Beginning draws from the long history of humans versus orcs, rooted in the Blizzard universe. The film leans especially on the foundations laid by the game Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, released in 1994, long before the franchise exploded with World of Warcraft. The adaptation stages the clash between the Alliance and the Horde, two factions that players recognize as central pillars of the saga.
The project underwent a lengthy development before hitting the big screen. Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures announced an adaptation as early as 2006, before Duncan Jones, the director of Moon and Source Code, ultimately took the helm in 2013. The filmmaker, himself a gamer, wanted to approach the Warcraft universe by isolating elements that could work in a cinematic narrative, rather than mechanically reproducing the game's experience.
The film leans on a major visual effects effort, particularly to bring the orcs to life. The scenes blend motion capture, digital effects, physical props, and oversized armor and weapons used as on-set references. Bill Westenhofer, already Oscar-winning for The Golden Compass and Life of Pi, oversaw the visual effects, with the aim of making the creatures believable while preserving the license’s distinctive visual identity.
Headlined by Travis Fimmel, Toby Kebbell and Paula Patton, the ensemble also features Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga, Rob Kazinsky, Clancy Brown, Daniel Wu and Ben Schnetzer. principal photography unfolded at Vancouver studios, where a host of sets were built and later extended digitally to recreate the vast kingdoms, battlefields, and iconic locations of Azeroth.
This Netflix arrival lets you discover or revisit Warcraft: The Beginning on streaming, ten years after it hit theaters. The film should appeal to fans of video game adaptations, grand-scale fantasy, and stories of war between rival worlds.
Trailer for Warcraft: The Beginning:
To go further, also check out our pick of Netflix’s May 2026 new releases, our guide to streaming launches across all platforms, and today’s selection: what to watch today in streaming.
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