Henry Cavill as Arthas in Warcraft 2 makes perfect sense: here’s why

Okay World of Warcraft fans, it’s time to go all-in… Henry Cavill would make a perfect Arthas in Blizzard’s newly rumored Warcraft 2 revival, especially after proving he’s got the fantasy chops as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s The Witcher.

The original Warcraft movie came out back in 2016, and landed with mixed reviews. World of Warcraft fans loved it, of course; seeing characters like Anduin, Medivh, Gul’dan, and Durotan brought to life on the big screen was a dream come true.

Critics and general audiences were less convinced. Duncan Jones’ high-fantasy romp in the world of Azeroth was dubbed a failure. A sequel was stamped ‘highly unlikely’ after the box office flop. 

Except, just four years later, the Warcraft rumor mill has thundered back to life. Legendary Entertainment has already green-lit a sequel, according to insider Daniel Ritchman, with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson involved.

And so, with Warcraft 2 reportedly in development, that leaves us with the biggest question for the sequel; what will the story be? Will the franchise take it step by step, and tell the story of “Tides of Darkness,” or head for a better-selling sequel?

• Read more: Evidence suggests Warcraft 2 is already in the works

In our opinion, Blizzard’s best bet for the sequel is to skip straight to “Reign of Chaos” and it’s genre-defining expansion “The Frozen Throne.” The third game’s storyline has plenty of ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ elements.

Enter fantasy’s man of the hour, Henry Cavill.

Arthas Menethil is key to Warcraft 3, and Cavill is a perfect pick to play him. The prince’s path to the throne is littered with huge battles, dastardly schemes, and of course, the biggest twist Blizzard’s Warcraft franchise has ever offered up.

Reason number one: I mean, look at Henry Cavill. That speaks for itself.

There are other reasons too though. One is that Cavill is a big World of Warcraft fan himself, meaning he’d likely be eager to sign on. I mean come on, the guy missed the news he had been cast as Superman because he was deep in a WoW raid.

Former Blizzard figurehead Chris Metzen and Rise of the Lich King writer Christie Golden have both given Cavill’s fan-casting their tick of approval too; the Warcraft duo are well and truly “on the [Cavill as] Arthas train.”

Finally, Warcraft 2 will need ticket-selling star power. The first 2016 flick did have plenty of big names ⁠— Vikings lead Travis Fimmell was among them, as was Marvel’s Dominic Cooper ⁠— but none command the same household stardom as Henry Cavill.

Cavill, 37, is a little old for Arthas in “Reign of Chaos” and “The Frozen Throne,” but if Legendary and Blizzard plan out a trilogy leading into “Wrath of the Lich King” ⁠— which they absolutely should ⁠— the British star will fit perfectly for Menethil’s final Warcraft hurrah.

• Read more: Henry Cavill still really, really wants to be James Bond 

Heck, cast a younger actor for the opening stage of the prince’s life, then bring Cavill in with a narrative time-jump in the third or fourth Warcraft movie.

The Superman star isn’t the only name being linked to Warcraft 2 either. Fimmel is expected to return as Anduin in the sequel, as is Ben Schnetzer as Khadgar. Paula Patton has also said she’d “love” to return for another Warcraft outing.

• Read more: When is WoW Shadowlands pre-patch 9.0.1?

The same insider reports that suggested Warcraft 2 is now in the works also tipped Jurassic World lead Chris Pratt as another star who has already been tabled a multi-movie deal.

Duncan Jones, who directed the 2016 release, also said he would happily return as long as there are “less cooks in the kitchen.” Blizzard has yet to officially respond to the reported new sequel, so take everything with a pinch of salt… for now.