More work? Work work, zug zug. Now that that‘s out of the way, we can tell you that sci-fi director/fruit of David Bowie’s loins Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) is making the leap to big-budget films, signing on to direct Legendary Pictures’ adaptation of Blizzard’s supremely popular Warcraft franchise. Jones must have his workers mining gold and lumber like there’s no tomorrow; with an expected $100 million budget, this is certainly a step up in scale for the director whose previous films cost $1 million (Moon) and $35 million (Source Code).
What part of the franchise’s ever-expanding lore the film will cover remains a mystery as screenwriter Charles Leavitt (Blood Diamond) is being kept more tightly under wraps than the Gates of Ahn’Qiraj (pre-gong, of course). We’re just hoping that the truly moving sequence takes place in which our fair protagonist must chat with the denizens of the Barrens to find Mankrik’s wife. No word yet on who will play Leeroy Jenkins, but we’re going to go ahead and place our bets on Danny McBride.
Are you excited for the Warcraft film? Comment below and let us know!
[HT: The Hollywood Reporter]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Nerdist Industries is owned by Legendary Pictures but retains editorial independence)
too late…
Am I excited? Well, I was excited back several years ago, but it’s been put off and delayed so much, it’s starting to just get infuriating. When the movie actually comes out, I’ll be excited, and obviously, go see it. But until then, it’ll probably be another several years of delay.
It has to be the story of Arthas…Mainstay of WoW and a great way to hook non WOW fans in. Arthas, Sylvanus, Onyxia, and Jaina. Bring it!!! This movie will need mass appeal and the game base is the minority of the movie going experience, so if you know story blindfolded already, who cares, this movie isn’t for you.
I have low hopes for it. There really isn’t a story in WoW worthy of a movie. I could see some TV-Series like Legend of the Seeker or Zena; not GoT-level, and not on the big screen.
There’s some very powerful people behind this, billionaires I have read. So, I really don’t give a fuck. 2006 is the first time they said a WoW movie was in the works, I expect this to either stay in limbo or suck beyond….I dunno man, not giving it any more thought.
The game was once great, then it grew, I grew and we didn’t see eye-to-eye anymore. Maybe a visit back, at the big screen might easy our former relationship.
who knows maybe they will release the last 3 movies first lmao jk
Is it going to be strictly WoW, I wonder. I came half a generation before Warcraft had a World, and was happily battle.netting it away on all sorts of maps with Tides of Darkness and Beyond the Dark Portal. As with most screen-adapted popular franchises, this’ll probably be more than a singular, stand-alone film.
I’d like to see a good tie-over from the plots of the early Warcraft games into the more complicated ones from WoW that Mischa speaks of. Y’know, from the Fall of Azeroth, to the alliance with the Elves and Gnomes, the Second War, and Khadgar closing the Dark Portal, and onward into the next film. Could be spectac.
Hmm…as a long-time WoW player, I’m definitely excited to see how they pull it off. It’s all going to boil down to the story, of course. There are so many characters and stories in the WoW universe to pull from that I could see the biggest challenge being focusing the film on a few central characters and not letting it get out of control with multiple plots and characters.
I would also like to see them use practical make-up effects but I know that’s asking too much…it’s bound to be CG. If the studio has any sense, they’ll be hiring WETA (Lord of the Rings) for the job!
I’m definitely looking forward to hearing more about it in the future!