Blizzard shocks WoW fans with Alleria Light and Shadow cinematic for The War Within

A new World of Warcraft cinematic trailer titled Alleria Light and Shadow dropped on Aug. 15, showcasing Alleria Windrunner’s wild tale leading up to The War Within. 

Slated to release through early access on Aug. 22, The War Within is WoW‘s newest expansion. Despite mixed reactions over Delves during the beta testing of the upcoming expansion, most players are ready to move on from Dragonflight. Blizzard kicked off the final weeks heading into The War Within on Aug. 15 with the new cinematic trailer, featuring impressive anime-style art and a shortened version of Alleria Windrunner’s backstory. 

Fan reactions naturally leaned toward “no justice for Sylvanas,” per one X/Twitter user’s comment, but a majority of the comments had fans craving more. Unlike past cinematics, the art team leaned hard into an anime style that has captured the hearts of WoW players—even casual players like myself.

From the music to the animation, it’s hard to hate the Alleria Light and Shadow cinematic for The War Within. Images with Alleria, Turalyon, and their son Arator evoked tears from some fans, while others, like one commenter, experienced “goosebumps, chills, and excitement all wrapped in one trembling package.” 

Many fans are calling on Blizzard to invest in a full animated story, much like Riot Games did with Arcane and future projects. Alleria Light and Shadow may be the start of something similar through Blizzard. 

Fans who are excited about The War Within expansion can preorder for early access that starts on Aug. 22, or drop into the WoW game when it officially releases on Aug. 26.