Project Lore

Let's just get the objective of the post out of the way in the first sentence.  Okay, fine, the second.  Crap.  *deep breath* Give the upcoming World of Warcraft movie a chance.

I understand why gamers are pessimistic about video game movies.  After all, our wallets have been hit by the likes of BloodRayne, House of the Dead and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale.  Granted, those are all from the same tax-abusing director, but Street Fighter and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li would also like to lend their credibility to the topic.  There are some "gems" though, Resident Evil and Mortal Kombat, to name two.  We're still a ways off from the World of Warcraft picture, and we know very little (a nice recap of what we do know here), but it's certainly shaping up to be a quality piece of entertainment.  Not some schlock, money in the bank scheme.

Here's why:
Sam Raimi - Raimi is the mastermind of the cult Evil Dead series.  Originally, the series was all about horror and suspense, before it restructured itself as a tongue-in-cheek mockery.  In either form, the trilogy is much loved and appreciated.  More recently he's been in charge of the Spider-man franchise, which has tailed off in quality with later entries.  Surely it was a reason for Raimi walking away from Spider-man 4.

Raimi also has Darkman and Drag Me To Hell under his belt, and has even dabbled in fantasy as an executive producer on Hercules and Xena.  The presence of Hercules and Xena in his repertoire is more important than you may realize.  Rumors indicate that the film may be made in New Zealand (where the shows were done) and he's stated that he wants to stick to the content that makes Warcraft so popular, the lore and lands.  Both settings that are familiar to the fantasy-based TV shows.

Robert Rodat:  You've probably never heard of him, I hadn't, but Rodat is responsible for the action behind Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot, and is reportedly in the middle of scripting the Warcraft film.  He should be plenty capable of putting the war in Warcraft.

Legendary Pictures - Legendary burst on to the movie scene with Batman Begins and hasn't really let up since.  Not everything the company has done is good (Superman Returns), but Beerfest, 300, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, The Hangover, Where the Wild Things Are and Ninja Assassin have shown that the company can take original and long-standing ideas and turn them into blockbusters.

Blizzard Entertainment - Blizzard is incredibly possessive of the company's intellectual property, especially the one pulling in $1 billion a year.  Nothing gets released with the company's logo on it without complete an udder agreement by the suits.  That's the very reason that the official WoW magazine has been delayed so much.  Blizzard wouldn't release it until it was spit shine perfect.

If Blizzard allows Activision to do a game based upon the movie, see Street Fighter: The Movie (the game), then it's time to worry.

Of course, don't get yourself over-hyped about the movie either.  It's a long way off and, again, this is a Blizzard Entertainment project.  It'll be out "soon."

The fourth installment of a film franchise that's gone on too long Spider-man is causing me some concern.  You see, Spider-man 4 and the untitled Warcraft movie share the same director, Sam Raimi.  According to Hollywood Reporter the webslingers quadrilogy has hit a wall, that snag may affect the movie I actually care about.

Apparently, Raimi and Sony cannot come to a consciousness on which villain(s) to use for the latest movie.  The obvious answer is Carnage, but four writers have tried, and failed, to get Sony and Raimi to kiss and make-up.  The collection of re-writes and re-starts has lead to a delay of Spider-man 4, knocking it out of opening 2011's summer blockbuster run on May 6.

Enough background, let's get to the topic at hand, the Warcraft movie.  With rumors swirling around Spider-man 4's delay, many industry insiders expect Warcraft's debut to be delayed in return, if by only a few months.  Others maintain that Raimi will just change his focus to Warcraft as the dispute rages on, allowing Blizzard's pictorial debut to remain on schedule.  That's a bit optimistic though.  At the moment, there's almost no concrete information on the movie besides Raimi directing and Legendary Pictures producing.  So what the heck is Raimi going to do, direct a series of DC Unlimited action figures?

That could be really entertaining...

In my opinion, the handling of Blizzard's licensed products has been absolutely stellar.  From the novels, to the books, manga and the trading card game, every bit of the extended universe is near gold.  I expect the movie to have the same loving treatment, a fact that Raimi's hiring only promoted.  Following that logic, delay the movie as much as needed.  Just make sure it's up to the quality and polish that we expect.

Like patches and expansions, don't hold your breath waiting for the movie film.