With Sam Raimi having some of his dance card cleared up with Spider-Man off his plate, there has been a lot of talk about what might be next for him.
Collider has an interview where he chats up mostly about the long talked about World of Warcraft film, and the rumours about him potentially stepping in for The Hobbit
How has the last few months been for him. Says he has been reading scripts and working on a treatment for the World of Warcraft
:35 Does he pay attention to the online rumors about what he is attached to
1:00 – Lots of talk that he might do The Hobbit.
1:25 – What will be his next film. Says he has read the script Oz. Not sure he will do the film
2:00 – World of Warcraft. What most excites him as a filmmaker – talks about the monsters, landscapes, performing spells.
2:45 – Does the film take place in the real world or just in the game. Says they have a 40 page treatment for the film
3:30 – Why is video game to film such a tough transition
4:15 – he really knows his characters
4:40 – Will the movie just take place in the World of Warcraft or will people be in the real world. Says it is ALL in the World of Warcraft
5:40 – How does he decide what he wants to do as his next project. Says he LOVES playing the game.
6:00 – Has he ever sat and played the game from morning to night. Tells a great story about his characters and the game. Fans are going to love what he says.
6:50 – Is the studio enthusiastic about the movie. Says it’s Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros.
7:30 – Does he have other projects he is thinking about or is it just WOW and OZ?
8:15 – Will he make another film like Drag Me to Hell or is he done with that genre
I really like the idea of Raimi taking on World of Warcraft, and making a movie in such a vast world of fantasy that has such an insane following is a big undertaking – dare I say as big as taking on Tolkien’s works.
The game World of Warcraft boasts over 6 million players, which means approximately one out of every 1000 people on the planet have played it. That’s pretty damned impressive. And in modern fantasy works, that would put it on par with the long running masterpiece works of Tolkien at least in popularity and awareness.
Do that wrong and you will upset a LOT of fans.
I also like that they are not tempted to bring the modern world into it at all. This will all take place in the WORLD of Warcraft, and not be some tie into the game where some player magically finds himself transported into the computer (WoW meets Tron? No thanks)
The franchise deserves the careful and steady hand of Raimi involved, and after he put his foot down with Sony and got shown the door for it, I imagine that they know what they are getting into with him ahead of time and will give him the control he needs.
