Activision’s CEO says the Warcraft movie is important to Blizzard, and to him.
Not that long ago the World of Warcraft movie seemed dead in the water, as Sam Raimi left the project over schedule conflicts. At the time there was some concern for the future of the project, but – although no director has been tipped to replace Raimi – a new writer has since been announced, and it’s Charles Leavitt, a scribe with more than a little film clout.
Charles Leavitt is better known as the brain behind conflict drama Blood Diamond and upcoming fantasy tale The Seventh Son, among others. Leavitt is no stranger to film development problems such as have plagued the World of Warcraft movie; Blood Diamond had been in development hell for years before Leavitt came on board.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is reported as saying that the project is “important to Blizzard, it’s important to me,” presumably a statement intended to reassure worried fans. He says the team, despite the film’s troubles, have been “very careful and thoughtful about the development process.”
In previous announcements Chris Metzen – who has plenty of videogame credits but little film experience – had the writer slot for this project. Presumably now Leavitt is on board Metzen is his deputy, which may or may not mean significant plot changes. Up to now the project has been pitched as a prequel set in the Warcraft: Orcs and Humans era, but that information came from Metzen and is several years old; it may be out of date.
Still no word as to when this one might hit the screen. In theory it could be as early as 2014, but that seems unlikely; the studio involved in its production is pushing its Godzilla flick for that same year, and besides there’s no director yet.
