Sam Raimi to Direct Warcraft Movie!

Necro · 07-22-2009, 05:24 AM

Quote:

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.

Source: Blizzard Entertainment

Wow this is pretty damn great news.

Sir Nicky Talent · 07-22-2009, 09:58 AM

Jesus. Do they want to ruin my love for movies? Quit greenlighting potential bad products!!

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Suffy · 07-22-2009, 11:21 AM

I actually think this movie would be awesome, just crazy battle scenes espicially if they somewhat follow the original games it'll be fun.

Twist of lEMOn · 07-22-2009, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mileycyrusfan11
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Jesus. Do they want to ruin my love for movies? Quit greenlighting potential bad products!!

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Never read or played a Warcraft (not WoW, but actually the RTS games) im assuming?

Ignorance ftW

King TE · 07-22-2009, 05:41 PM

Personally, I think this will be a failure but it has the potential to be great.

Daddy · 07-22-2009, 06:53 PM

I think Peter Jackson would be more win for this.

King TE · 07-22-2009, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rated X
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I think Peter Jackson would be more win for this.

Why? So he can make it a Warcraft-version of LOTR? no thanks. 'But I don't think Raimi is the right director for this. imo

Daddy · 07-23-2009, 01:07 AM

I think Peter Jackson would be more qualified than Raimi that's all. Jackson at least keeps things close as can be to how they are supposed to be.

Wow that didn't even make sense to me. <.<

xfearbefore · 07-23-2009, 01:57 AM

I'm not a big fan of WOW, but Raimi can turn anything good. The man took an otherwise cliched story in Drag Me to Hell and turned it into one of the funnest horror films in years. The guy can pretty much do no wrong in my book.

I'll keep my eyes on this one. I may not be big on WOW, but I certainly am big on Raimi. Quite frankly though I'd much rather he work on a new Evil Dead film though. Doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon though.