Blizzcon has started, and they’re coming out of the gates with a reality-shattering cinematic trailer for Blizzard’s upcoming 2020 expansion – The Shadowlands.
There’s no reason to go through and recap every action of the trailer, you should simply watch it as soon as you get the chance. For a quick gist, we see Sylvanas marching alone into Icecrown, the place where players killed Arthas back in 2008. There she starts a duel with the current Jailer of the Damned, Bolvar Fordragon, who managed to fashion himself a beautiful new hammer.
No king rules forever.
World of Warcraft #Shadowlands coming 2020!
💀 https://t.co/S77GzeGBVd pic.twitter.com/gzXOax9Uh4— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) November 1, 2019
After winning the duel, Sylvanas seemingly goes to put on the helmet, only to instead shatter it – and reality itself, as the veil between Azeroth and the Shadowlands is torn asunder.
The expansion isn’t a total surprise. Leaks showed the image of Bolvar with his eyes blue, a change so strange that it had some fans assuming it was fake and photoshopped. With death and therein playing such a massive role in Battle for Azeroth, many players expected a return to Icecrown and for Bolvar to fully come into his own as the Lich King.
What we got is unexpected, and in some ways, maybe just a little disappointing. It isn’t fantastic to see Bolvar, who has been building power over the five expansions since 2008, get dunked on in a single duel by a character that has already been the death of a few beloved lore figures. Given that Sylvanas leaves him alive, there’s almost definitely still a role for him to play, but it does feel like another cheap and unearned death
There’s definitely a lot more information incoming. Not counting data leaks, the only information we have is this one cinematic trailer, and there’s no telling how good of a representation it is of the expansion as a whole. Players might have flashbacks to seeing Sylvanas go from seemingly defending the Horde in a massive battle and rushing to the frontlines at the opening cinematic of Battle for Azeroth, to manipulating and utilizing the Horde and becoming a corrupt war chief within that same expansion. For all we know, this setup is a huge bait and switch just like last time.
The expansion is slated for 2020 release, but we won’t have to wait until then to get more information. As Blizzcon continues, players are sure to get a good look into the Shadowlands and everything that Blizzard has on offer this time.
