Warcraft, the World of Warcraft film adaptation, has been given a release date. According to a report from Deadline, the film will hit theaters on December 18, 2015.
There was a time, very recently, when it seemed like Warcraft was doomed to fall into film limbo. Director Sam Raimi had left, taking with him both his skill and his clout, and on the way out he accused Blizzard of being difficult to work with. Neither Universal or Legendary Pictures discussed giving up on the film, but losing an A-list director like Raimi was a difficult blow to overcome. A similar fate befell the Uncharted film when David O. Russell, and then Neil Burger, both were attached and then left. That film has yet to name a replacement.
Duncan Jones took over as director in early 2013. He may not have the same name recognition as Raimi, but he is coming off successful back-to-back critically acclaimed films, Moon and The Source Code, which have earned him a solid reputation.
The release date also follows a bevy of casting rumors. Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, and Paula Patton have all been rumored to be in discussions, and even if none of those actors sign up, it does show that the project is advancing at a good pace.
Warcraft is one of the many coming films that hope to end the video-game-to-film-adaptation stigma that has been well earned following years of underperforming properties that were box office bombs and loathed by critics and fans alike. Other films, like Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, and Warcraft could be the first of a new wave of blockbuster video game releases that actually work.
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