The WoWChakra interview with Ion Hazzikostas revealed something immensely foreshadowing of what might happen in the next expansion after Shadowlands.

According to Ion, time flows differently in Shadowlands than in Azeroth.

Jump to 03:07:38 in the video interview, or read the transcript and my two theories at the bottom of this page:

INTERVIEW SNIPPET

WoWChakra: It looks like time runs differently in the Shadowlands than in Azeroth. Maybe that’s why Uther, Kael’Thas and other characters have been there for ages when it has been just a few years in Azeroth. How does time go by in Shadowlands and what does that mean for our characters?

Ion: The answer is complicated. It’s not like some science fiction movies where in a black hole time just moves faster; but time is different in Shadowlands.

Time is a construct of Order and structure; and things in the Shadowlands are more Chaotic in a lot of ways. Think about how time moves in a (???) — to some extent. While it is not necessarily a fixed amount of time, things can bounce around.

For the souls that have been in the Shadowlands, to them it might feel like they have been here for a very very long time — as they thought of their own personal journeys and evolution; but it is not necessarily a 3X faster, 10X faster. Time is different. And what does that mean for our characters? Well, that’s something that we’ll have to see as we come out the other end.

Holy molly! That was some cliffhanger, there. I don’t even feel comfortable speculating here.

Maybe players return to the next expansion mere seconds or minutes after we left?

Maybe we end up several years in the future, where some of our leaders and our character have been gone many years, and we land in a dystopian future of World of Warcraft with an aged King Anduin Wrynn?

To be fair, I am not pulling that one out of my [insert improper term]. That’s actually based on canon lore — as we witnessed in the digital comics SON OF THE WOLF by Robert Brooks and Nesskain.

That dystopian future hinted at a war against the Shadow. The Void Lords? Will we emerge from Shadowlands into a future where Velen and elder King Anduin are set to go to war with the Void Lords settled in on Azeroth?

If so, will that means we will finally witness Nozdormu falling to madness before a Void Lord? Will we witness the dawn of Murozond?

If that is the case, I can see how we might end up in a Timewalkers expansion, as we go back in time to reset time, before returning to our proper era.

Man, that would be two exciting expansions if Blizzard Entertainment ever opens that can of worms.

But let’s not just go along with Theory #1.

What if we leave the Shadowlands expansion, and entered the next expansion in the past, instead?

What era would that be? Pick one:

  • War between the Titans and the Old gods
  • Troll/Qiraji War
  • War of the Ancients
  • Qiraji/Night Elves War
  • Three Hammers War
  • Troll Wars: Zul’Amani vs High Elves/Humans
  • First War
  • Second War
  • Third War
  • Something else in time.

That would also be immensely exciting just to ponder.

Blizzard is at a crossroads where anything is possible. They dared to get Shadowlands as an expansion, which is super risky. What else can they concoct for future expansion knowing now that time flows differently in Shadowlands than in Azeroth?

Personally, I don’t think SON OF THE WOLF was just a one off. I can’t think of any story that ever showed us a glimpse of the future like that comics did during the LEGION expansion.

Maybe it rings something they had discussed back then at the story development level?

I am not saying back then Shadowlands was fully thought out, or even what the next expansion post-Shadowlands was going to be. But maybe the Story Development team had some very early ideas flowing and that’s why they felt confident on showing those few panels in SON OF THE WOLF.

Maybe the plan all along has been to leave Shadowlands and enter a dystopian future.

If that was true, then the next question would be if we would stay forever in that dystopian future, and help fix it to stay permanently there, or if we would be forced to help Chromie form the Timewalkers for the very first time (chronologically) — and I mean, the very foundation of the Timewalkers order; and go back in time to search for Followers to join the Timewalkers to stop Murozond.

Ok, I will leave you with that thought while I go get a Tylenol. Or maybe two.

Some articles I have written in the past in this Timewalkers and Murozond subject.

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BlizzCon 2019 Panel Transcripts