World of Warcraft (Sam Raimi)

[Saya]

Sam Raimi is directing the World of Warcraft movie. I think it's live action?

AICN Exclusive Confirmed: Sam Raimi is going to direct WORLD OF WARCRAFT!!!

[Dead & Messed Up]

As long as we keep giving enormous fantasy projects to former splatstick auteurs, I'm happy.

[Amnesiac]

I wonder if he attached himself to this because he is truly interested in the property or because its likely to be a lucrative investment.

[trotchky]

As long as we keep giving enormous fantasy projects to former splatstick auteurs, I'm happy.

Heh.

[Saya]

I wonder if he attached himself to this because he is truly interested in the property or because its likely to be a lucrative investment.

Who knows? Maybe he's a secret hardcore WoW player? Wouldn't really surprise me to be honest. Seeing that he is always interested in fantasy themed stories.

[Ivan Drago]

If this can be made into a movie, so can Halo, dammit.

[BuffaloWilder]

Is it weird that I've never been that impressed with any of Sam Raimi's films, post Dead-trilogy, and minus Spider-Man 2?

[Saya]

If this can be made into a movie, so can Halo, dammit.

I thought someone was already making this movie? Wasn't Peter Jackson involved with this?

[Ivan Drago]

I thought someone was already making this movie? Wasn't Peter Jackson involved with this?

As the executive producer, yes. Neill Blomkamp (who's directing District 9) was the director, but a year or so ago they came out and said that the movie was dead.

EDIT: Never mind, apparently just "a lot of negotiations" are being made.

[Saya]

I think this movie has a good chance of being the highest grossing movie of all time.

Press release from Blizzard:

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® AND LEGENDARY PICTURES SIGN SAM RAIMITO DIRECT UPCOMING WARCRAFT® MOVIE

Raimi, acclaimed director of the blockbuster Spider-Man series, will bring the forces of the Horde and the Alliance to life in epic live-action film. Charles Roven's Atlas Entertainment will produce alongside Raimi's Stars Road Entertaiment.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – July 22, 2009 -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and Legendary Pictures announced today that Sam Raimi has signed on to direct the eagerly-anticipated major motion picture based on Blizzard Entertainment®’s award-winning Warcraft® universe. Raimi has, in the course of his career, clearly demonstrated a genius for developing and adapting existing fictional universes for mainstream audiences while staying true to the spirit of the original content.

Raimi directed the Spider-Man trilogy, which has broken box-office records around the world and garnered five Academy Award® nominations. Known for his imaginative filmmaking style, richly drawn characters and offbeat humor, Raimi wrote and directed the cult classic, The Evil Dead and produced 30 Days Of Night. He most recently wrote and directed the supernatural thriller, Drag Me To Hell.

"At its core, Warcraft is a fantastic, action-packed story," said Raimi. "I am thrilled to work with such a dynamite production team to bring this project to the big screen."

Charles Roven’s producing talents were recently seen with last summer’s blockbuster The Dark Knight, which grossed in excess of $1 billion, was nominated for eight Academy Awards® and won two. His body of work also includes the widely acclaimed Batman Begins and the sci-fi classic 12 Monkeys. Roven, with Atlas producing partner Alex Gartner, will be producing with Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull, Legendary’s Chief Creative Officer Jon Jashni, Raimi and Raimi’s producing partner Joshua Donen. Raimi’s partner, Robert Tapert, will be an Executive Producer and Blizzard Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of Creative Development, Chris Metzen, a Co-Producer.

"Partnering with Sam Raimi exemplifies Legendary's mandate of marrying the highest quality intellectual property to world-class filmmakers" said Legendary’s Tull. "Sam's passion for 'Warcraft' is undeniable and we know that he will create an incredible film worthy of Blizzard's phenomenal franchise. We look forward to collaborating with our partners at Warner Bros. and continuing our successful relationship with Chuck in bringing this rich new world to the screen."

"Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have a shared vision for this film and we searched at length to find the very best director to bring that vision to life," said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. "From our first conversation with Sam, we could tell he was the perfect choice. Sam knows how to simultaneously satisfy the enthusiasts and the mainstream audience that might be experiencing that content for the first time. We're looking forward to working with him to achieve that here."

"Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft has become a second home for millions of players and Sam’s experience and talent make him the perfect director for this remarkable and action-packed world," said Atlas’ Roven. "Alex and I are proud to be working with Sam and re-teaming with our friends at Legendary and Warner Bros."

The film will fall under Legendary Pictures’ co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. "Warcraft is emblematic of the kind of branded, event films for which our studio is best known. We have enjoyed great success with our partners at Legendary, and this is an incredible opportunity for us to work with Sam on a project that is so eagerly anticipated by so many," said Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft universe is a rich fantasy setting that revolves around the epic conflict between the opposing forces of the Horde and the Alliance. Since its debut in 1994, Warcraft has developed a loyal following across the globe, with several bestselling, award-winning PC games and a range of popular licensed products including novels, action figures, apparel, comic books, board games, and more. World of Warcraft®, Blizzard Entertainment’s subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in the Warcraft universe, is the most popular game of its kind in the world. Its most recent expansion, Wrath of the Lich King™, is the fastest-selling PC game of all time, with more than 2.8 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of availability and more than 4 million in its first month.

Further details about the upcoming Warcraft movie, including cast and targeted release date, will be revealed as development progresses.

[number8]

Needs to be bookended, Princess Bride style, with two fat acne-ridden kids eating Cheetos and cursing up a storm at each other, before discovering the story.

[Wryan]

Despite the fact that so many people play this and despite the fact that practically everyone knows at least one person who plays (whether they realize it or not), I dunno how big this will be. I imagine some people would be embarrassed to even show up at a theatre unless they pull out a big LOTR-style marketing and the film actually looks good and fun. I think Raimi is a great choice, actually, and could combine his sense of style, character and wit with Blizzard's pretty well. Gonna be odd seeing other actors play characters already well-developed by other [voice] actors. Not gonna lie, though, had kind of hoped that it would be all CGI. Blizzard does some beautiful work there.

[Ezee E]

I think a Halo movie would be seen. I don't think anyone was really asking for a WoW movie.

[Dukefrukem]

What the eff?????????????????

[Wryan]

I don't think anyone was really asking for a WoW movie.

How many movies these days are?

[Dukefrukem]

I dont see how this would work at all... it would almost be exactly like LOrR.

[Sycophant]

I dont see how this would work at all... it would almost be exactly like LOrR.

No, not really.

Not that familiar with where the Warcraft games have gone after II, you could tell any number of stories that wouldn't have to strictly be from the Tolkien mold with Azeroth as the setting.

[Dukefrukem]

No, not really.

Not that familiar with where the Warcraft games have gone after II, you could tell any number of stories that wouldn't have to strictly be from the Tolkien mold with Azeroth as the setting.

Well I don't necessarily mean the story, but the universe, the characters... there's even a joke in WoW that parodies the similarities.

The Third Joke here.

[Wryan]

Eh, only to the extent that any post-Tolkien S&S fantasy can be said to be inspired by the work. Hell when I read the first Harry Potter, I was briefly annoyed at the existence of an underground lake at Gringotts cause it was zomg just like in The Hobbit for chrissakes.

I heard that this WoW movie will actually be set around the time of WarII and tell the basic setup story. Not sure, though.

[Sycophant]

Yeah, Blizzard has always had a good sense of humor and self-awareness about how it cribs from its sources. Nearly every modern piece of Western fantasy (particularly high fantasy) has borrowed a lot from Tolkien in the last forty years; it's practically unavoidable at this point.

There hasn't been a screenwriter announced for this yet, has there?

[D_Davis]

I like WoW, and I would like to see more well-made fantasy films.

However, I'd rather see some S&S films rather than more high/epic fantasy. I'd love to see some films based on the Elric saga, or the Grey Mouser stuff (these would be awesome), or maybe some of Clark Ashton Smith's stuff, or Robert E. Howard's non-Conan creations (a Solomon Kane flick would be bad ass). I just prefer the low-fantasy, or the darker, and weirder stuff.

There is more lore in WoW than should be humanly possible, but I can't imagine being excited for this. It's the same old complaint with me: with so many other literary sources to mine from, why pick a video game, especially one that is so derivative of other, better, fantasy stories? We all know the answer, but still.

Anyhow, WoW is a great game, but I can't bring myself to care about this at all.

[Sycophant]

I'll have to know a lot more to actually desire to see it. But I'm hoping that signing Raimi means they've ended up on a course that everyone involves really likes. Blizzard is famous for its quality control and this has been floated for like four years now, so that's somewhat promising.

Or it would just be a practical entertainment industry sin not to make a feature film with this large a built-in audience.

[D_Davis]

Blizzard is famous for its quality control and this has been floated for like four years now, so that's somewhat promising.

This is true.

[Wryan]

Yeah if Blizzard can be praised for just one thing, it's their circumspection.

[Dukefrukem]

I'd rather see a Starcraft movie over this.