Amph Son of Bowie to direct World of Warcraft film

Film maker Duncan Jones has been named as the director of a movie based on the World of Warcraft video games by Blizzard Entertainment.

World of Warcraft is the world's biggest massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) featuring elves, orcs and trolls. It is unsurprising that such a popular video games franchise is to become a movie. According to the BBC, the director selected for the project is Duncan Jones.

Duncan Jones is the son of musician David Bowie (he was born in 1971 and originally named Zowie Bowie). He has directed two movies that have received good reviews: 'Moon' (2009) and 'Source Code' (2011).

The announcement was made by Jones, when he sent he following tweet: "So the gauntlet was thrown down ages ago: Can you make a proper MOVIE of a video game. I've always said it's possible. Got to DO it now!"

The adaption of the World of Warcraft from computer game to movie has been in development for a long time. In May 2006, production company Legendary Pictures acquired film rights to adapt Warcraft for the big screen with the game's publisher, Blizzard Entertainment. The development has been held up by various rights issues and several changes to potential directors and with the script (the Guardian provides a summary of the troubled development). Now, according to Hollywood Reporter, the movie is ready to go with a budget of $100 million.

Few details about the movie project have emerged, although Sky News indicates that Prometheus star Michael Fassbender is lined up to play the lead role.

Legendary Pictures is looking at a start in fall 2013 and a release in 2015.


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/342745#ixzz2JtCmGCdG

You know, I really wish this would work. Mostly because WOW's lore is pretty densely layered and well written, and because the stories they've told have actually been compelling. The fall of Arthas to the corruption of the Lich King, and his relationship with his mentor Uther the Lightbringer, was a better version of the Anakin/Vader story than the unforgivable tripe we got from Lucas.

Trick is to look at adapting the stories rather than the gameplay. WoW was invented to do 2 things - 1) Give players the chance to experience Azeroth and it's lore, and 2) make stonking amounts of cash (seriously. Do you know what a cashcow this has been for Blizzard?) If you take the view that the game was one way of exploring the lore and storytelling, you then go back to the lore and storytelling as the movie's primary mechanic.

At least, that's what I hope given how terrible video game movies are.

 

Even though I stopped playing WOW two years ago I am still looking forward to the movie. I agree with everything you said about the lore and hope this dude can do it justice.

 

moon owned. didnt realize that dude was a bowie offspring. kind of assumed bowie didnt need offspring because he's going to live forever and whatnot

 

Daddy Bowie's playing the goblin king, right?

 

There's literally dozens of great stories they can tell. Thankfully it won't be vile Horde propaganda! FOR THE ALLIANCE!

 

From the movie they will suck people back in just in time for WOW 2.0 and have success for another 10 years.

 

Bowie, with his androgyny, would be a perfect high/blood elf.

 

WOO HOO!



A Warcrack movie!

 

Prosthetic effects and puppets or CGI, thata all i want to know.

 

No, that would be Dame Edna.

 

I vote for CGI. If you didn't know what you were looking at you'd swear that the Mists of Pandaria cut scences were clip from a film. Ducan Jones directs and Blizzard does the actual animation.

 

Interesting. I've never played the game, but I enjoy a good fantasy story.

 

Warcrack II was one my favorite computer games back in the day...

Good for you Blizzard, for having class.

 

Oh you should get Warcraft 3, NYCG. It should be cheap and run on modern OS' - it's easy as an RTS and has a great narrative.

I played WoW from 2005 -> 2009, as a Retribution Paladin (Endersai). I absolutely loved it, especially the story they added with WOTLK (when I stopped playing). The story is there, the world is there, it's deep and layered - I hope they focus on that and not on "a game film".

Varian "Ultimate Badass" Wrynn's journey from Lo'Gosh to King of Stormwind. Rhonin's travel through time. Arthas's fall as Lich King and subsequent defeat at Icecrown. Tirion Fordring's friendship with Eitrigg and formation of the Argent Crusade. The Stormrage brothers (Malfurion and Illidan). The Horde's exile to the Outlands... Medivh, the last guardian of Tirisfall - so many stories they can tell.

 

Actually the more I think about it, the more I think the story of Arthas Menethil is the one to tell: his days as a Paladin training with the legendary Lightbringer himself, Uther (and his romance? with Jaina Proudmoore); the growing corruption of the Scourge and the fall of parts of Lordaeron following the plague (thinking the sacking of Stratholme here) that Mal'ganis launches; Arthas's fall to the Lich King's power and his slaying of the Lightbringer; his journey to Northrend where he eventually discovers Frostmourne, and finally his defeat.

 

I love Moon, Source Code is pretty good (certainly well directed). I'm not at all fond of WoW though. I'm expecting something halfway between the LotR trilogy and the Dungeons & Dragons films. I hope Jones is taking the money to invest in a good film that he wants to make...

He's done cerebral scifi stuff very well, I'm not sure how that will translate to fantasy game franchise fiction.

 

I hope they turn the move into a video game, and not some crappy mmo.

 

Your theater ticket will only buy the first 10 minutes of the film. If you want to see the rest of the film you will then need to pay another dollar every 5 minutes until the film ends.

 

Thread title should read: "Son of Bowie no longer to direct original science-fiction film MUTE"

And there was much gnashing of teeth.

 

How much Warcraft have you played?

 

These video game movies need to stop.

 

not until i get my hitman movie... oh... ****...

 

ya but timothy olyphant tho

 

I'll see your Tetris and raise you Minesweeper: