World of Warcraft fans rejoice: The rights to the WoW live action film have been snapped up by Legendary Pictures. Now you can not only plow all your free time into crafting and trying to flirt with low level dwarves online, but you can go and watch the dramatized version of it in the theatre too! I really, really hope someone thinks to bring Leroy Jenkins in for a cameo, because that could just be terribly clever. Anyway, here's Blizz's take on the happy union:
"We searched for a very long time to find the right studio for developing a movie based on one of our game universes," said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. "Many companies approached us in the past, but it wasn't until we met with Legendary Pictures that we felt we'd found the perfect partner. They clearly share our high standards for creative development, and because they understand the vision that we've always strived for with our Warcraft games, we feel there isn't a better studio out there for bringing the Warcraft story to film."
Hmm, sounds distinctly unlike the Uwe Boll strategy. Of course, since video game films are so rarely good, it's hard to be be cynical about the idea. I imagine a cheesy masterpiece, resplendent with typecast heroes and wooden acting. It would be shamefully enjoyable, like Cheetos. I suppose a good movie would be a better alternative, but really, can't you just see the infinite possibilities if it were bad instead?
The word was, Diablo was on their coming soon list as well, but when I went and checked it out I did not see it. It's a shame, because I know Ron Workman would land that role as the Lord of Darkness without even having to make a phone call. Wait until you see him in action at PAX and you'll know why.
[Thanks Kennigit]
Contest:
10:39 PM on 06.18.2007
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A Starcraft live action movie will also probably follow soon...
Dated May 9th, 2006.
<3
http://www.blizzplanet.com/news/1444/
This is where Slashdot, MSNBC, CVG Online, Kotaku and other media got the headlines from. From there it cascaded everywhere in the net. Blizzplanet is a long-standing registered member of the Blizzard Fansites Program.
I saw the DIABLO title listed in the "In Development" section at the Legendary Pictures website. I have kept watch constantly on their website since then. At 6pm on Monday, June 18 -- DIABLO was still listed. I was about to play World of Warcraft around 7pm and before launching the game, I went to Legendary Pictures website again to see if there was any updates, since their news section is under construction. To my surprise, DIABLO was unlisted. I have been camping their website for a week. The only updates I have seen is the new press release posted on June 25 concerning a $1 billion financing for their upcoming films including World of Warcraft. Diablo is not even mentioned. I am not sure what's going on. Maybe the webmaster slipped it accidentally and got his wrist slapped. I had emailed "someone" the day before it was unlisted. Not sure if he in turn contacted Legendary Pictures or Blizzard to take it down.
All I can say is ... Diablo was indeed listed for at least 24 hours.