These cinematic trailers are literally the best thing Bethesda/ZeniMax has produced since Skyrim. The new, outstanding cinematic trailer for ESO: Shadow Over Morrowind proves that an Elder Scrolls movie is not only capable of being made, but also that everyone wants one.
I can’t be the only one who desperately wants an Elder Scrolls cinematic movie/TV show? Right?
ESO: Shadow Over Morrowind is the newest content release for the ESO series as this DLC/chapter takes place in the Eastern half of Morrowind, the home of the legendary House Telvanni, and has the player character interacting with the even more famous Daedric Prince of Knowledge, Hermaeus Mora, and his realm of Apocrypha.
The 3-minute trailer was fantastic as it showed a Dark Elf warrior/mage (who looked incredibly lifelike) fighting against some of Herma Mora’s minions over some powerful relic of knowledge, which ended with the main character getting saved by the Daedric Prince and becoming indebted to his service just like Miraak and the Last Dragonborn from The Dragonborn DLC.
Simply put, this was a brilliant trailer that showcased the very best The Elder Scrolls world can offer…yet that is not a new feat for these ESO cinematic trailers.
The cinematics ZeniMax has made for ESO, going all the way back to the very first ones with the Nord berserker, Altmer mage, and Breton thief/assassin, have been utterly fantastic and some of the best content Bethesda/ZeniMax has produced in the last decade, even though they are only supposed to promote The Elder Scrolls Online.
Now, ESO is so much better these days than it was when it first came out back in 2014 (man, that was one bad release), though I think I can say for nearly every ESO player that the cinematics are 10X better than the actual ESO game and gameplay. Hell, I’d even go so far as to say that the cinematics rival certain ports of Skyrim (PlayStation version, Nintendo Switch version, old Xbox versions) as the mod support on those consoles are either extremely limited or nonexistent.
Nevertheless, when I say that I would want an Elder Scrolls movie, I strictly mean an Elder Scrolls CINEMATIC/ANIMATED movie. The CGI and graphical skills of modern-day video game developers/animators are far and away better than anything a Hollywood adaptation could produce, while they would also better understand and respect the source material of The Elder Scrolls.
If we were back in 2015 or around that time, then I’d be all for an Elder Scrolls live action adaptation as that was before the streaming service sludge boom of the 2020’s that saturated the entertainment market, and the general fantasy hype that took over Hollywood during the final years of Game of Thrones.
However, seeing how franchises like The Witcher, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, The Wheel of Time, The Dark Tower, Star Wars, Willow, DC, and even some recent Marvel characters have been dragged through the dirt and spat on by disrespectful, disgraceful Hollywood “creators” (you can’t be a creator in my mind if you don’t respect the source material your working with), I’m glad Hollywood hasn’t gotten its hands on The Elder Scrolls yet.
No, a cinematic in the style of the ESO trailers would be the best way to tell a story in The Elder Scrolls universe. Though, the only type of “live action” portrayal that might be acceptable is the way the Avatar movies have been shot and filmed as those are mostly cinematics anyways.
We’ll have to see if Bethesda/ZeniMax ever gets tempted by the fan’s wishes for an ESO movie/TV series, but I obviously am one of the people pushing for it. As for the newest ESO chapter, I’m sure it’ll be great visiting Apocrypha and seeing our good old friend Hermaeus Mora one more time.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Online Studios) (The Elder Scrolls Online: Shadow Over Morrowind – Cinematic Announcement Trailer – YouTube)
