While it’s true that I haven’t been playing WoW much lately, ever since the conclusion to the current expansion, Shadowlands, I was really excited about this video when it was released back in April. A big part of why I wanted to finally post an article about it is Stony Danza, Stony Tony, Stone Boi… whatever people may call him, he’s the definite star of the video. Blizzard unveiled this cinematic to us in an online event showcasing the future of WoW, as there was no BlizzCon this year.
Everything about this cinematic was amazing to me. It opens up with a glimpse of 10,000 years in the past where the dragons are leaving the island. I’m assuming this is after the time the Titans raised members from each of the dragon flights into Aspects, but I’ll need to brush up on my dragon lore to be sure. We see some beautiful Titan structures since, after all, the Dragon Aspects themselves were granted their power by the Titans in order to safe guard Azeroth in their absence and can also be described as constructs of the Titans. It was a welcome surprise to see Titan Watchers, common within the game, featured in such an important cinematic. Then begins the story in earnest.
As the dragons leave the island, it and everything else on it including the Watchers power down. We can see the island’s power source looming high above everything else, signifying its importance. In present day most of the keepers have been destroyed from thousands of years of weathering, being that they are made out of stone. The only Keeper to awaken is our hero, Stony Danza, who recognizes his task at once. For a man made out of stone, much emotion is displayed on his face as he somberly walks toward the tower. It’s easy to see the sadness on his face as he reaches the Titan Keeper who time has not been kind to. When Stony reignites the beacon and seemingly accepts his death, only to be caught at the last moment by the dragon Alexastrasza, tears were shed. Once again the skies open and the dragons are home. Stony Danza is a hero, my hero.
What I love most about this cinematic is that it conveys so much emotion from a character with no dialogue. You can tell just by watching him how sad he is to be the only Watcher who awoke that day, and the calm determination in his face as he realizes what he must do. Blizzard has confirmed that Stony Danza will be in the game, and that his “real” name is Watcher Kouranos. I can’t wait to find him and give him a hug.