Sam Raimi To Direct Upcoming Warcraft Movie

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Blizzard today announced that Sam Raimi has signed on to direct the upcoming film based on Blizzard's Warcraft universe. Raimi has, in the course of his career, 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 broke box-office records around the world and garnered five Academy Award nominations. Known for his filmmaking style, richly drawn characters and offbeat humour, Raimi wrote and directed the 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.

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

Reader Comments:

Posted by G-Train 23/07/2009 12:59am

In 2 words, F*K YEAH!

I hope they split it into 3 films.

One to tell the story of the Titans and the creation of Azeroth, the Five Flights etc, the first coming of the burning legion and the story of Illidan The Betrayer and the fall of the High elves over maybe 30mins, then skip ahead to the first war with the orcs.

Second one to follow up the Human v Orc war, and the creation of the Lich King / the coming of the plague and the fall of Arthus.

Then the third one to show the second coming of the legion, the battle of Mt Hyjal and the venture into Northrend and the downfall of Arthus.


Or something to this effect - mostly I hope they just do it right. Sounds like a good crew........Hope they shoot someone close /shotgun an extra ^_^

Posted by karaoke 23/07/2009 10:56am

I think that it will be interesting to see who they cast in this so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it.

Posted by G-Train 23/07/2009 3:18pm

Did a little digging, found some rumors that say they're not going to set it during the first war of the humans vs orcs as they think it would be too similar to LOTR (smart decision).

So looks like they may pickup where Warcraft 3 did, the beggining of the plague and the fall of Arthus. GL packing all that into one movie. I'd rather see them omit alot and tell a part of the story right, then try to pack it all into one movie - can always make pre/se-quels.

Posted by AusCube 23/07/2009 9:31pm

I'd love to see a Warhammer/40k movie.

Posted by Master Chief 23/07/2009 9:46pm

I'd love to see a movie based on LOTRO, maybe a trilogy.. with the climactic ending called "HEY! The King's Back!"

Posted by G-Train 24/07/2009 2:48pm

They could call the first one, The Brotherhood of the Bracelet!

They'd be followed by 9 Bracelet Boogymen, and a Murloc named Gottem!