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[Loxley]

*edit - Clancy Brown and Daniel Wu have joined the cast as well.

Ben Foster, Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Toby Kebbell and Rob Kazinsky have all been officially confirmed. No revelations on who is playing what character yet.

Filming begins in January of 2014.

Universal Pictures has revealed they have closed deals with Ben Foster, Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Toby Kebbell, and Rob Kazinsky and are in final stages of negotiation with Dominic Cooper to star in Warcraft, based on Blizzard Entertainment’s award-winning video game series.

Ben Foster’s credits include: The Messenger, 3:10 To Yuma, Lone Survivor, Kill Your Darlings, X-Men: The Last Stand and the television series Six Feet Under and Flash Forward.

Travis Fimmel’s stars in the television series Vikings.

Paula Patton has appeared in Baggage Claim, 2 Guns, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Precious and Hitch.

Toby Kebbell’s credits include The Councilor, The East, Wrath of the Titans, War Horse, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, RocknRolla and the upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Rob Kazinsky has appeared in HBO’s True Blood, EastEnders as well as the movies Pacific Rim and Red Tails.

Dominic Cooper’s credits include the Captain America movies, Dead Man Down, My Week with Marilyn, An Education and Mamma Mia!.

Other actors who were previously rumored for the film but not confirmed in the official press release: Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, Anton Yelchin and Anson Mount.

Other official information:

The script was written by Charles Leavitt and rewritten by Duncan Jones, and production is set to begin in Vancouver in January 2014.

Charles Roven, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Alex Gartner will produce. Stuart Fenegan, Jillian Share, Brent O’Connor and Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime and Paul Sams will serve as executive producers. Chris Metzen, Rob Pardo and Nick Carpenter from Blizzard will co-produce.

Legendary most recently released PACIFIC RIM directed by Guillermo del Toro, the Jackie Robinson biopic 42, and MAN OF STEEL with Warner Bros. In addition to WARCRAFT, highlights from Legendary’s upcoming slate include the GODZILLA project, based on Toho Company’s famed character; and 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE.

Roven most recently produced THE DARK KNIGHT RISES and MAN OF STEEL as well as serving as a producer on the upcoming yet untitled Superman Batman Film. Atlas Entertainment will next release David O. Russell’s AMERICAN HUSTLE, which just won the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Picture, starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence.

via /Film

Ben Foster

Travis Fimmel

Paula Patton

Toby Kebbell

Rob Kazinsky

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

It's happening?

 

[Blair]

Nice, Ben Foster is a fucking awesome underrated actor.

 

[Dysun]

Travis Fimmel is great on Vikings, hope he plays the lead Human Knight-type

 

[Charles Alan Ratliff]

Ben Foster is totally awesome. Good stuff.

 

[TriniTrin]

Ben Foster Thrall confirmed?

Do we even know if any of the major warcraft characters are in this? Is it a CGI movie? Are all these peeps just playing humans?

 

[TUSR]

Im totally down with Ben Foster.

 

[Shrennin]

It's happening?

Looks like it. It's also going to be set in the WarCraft: Orcs and Humans time period, apparently, which is surprising awesome and gives me actual hope for this movie being the first real good video game based movie.

 

[strafer]

Ben Foster is crazy talented.

 

[Professor Lich]

I'm really curious as how this plays out. I enjoy Warcraft lore so I wonder if they do anything with it or just do something in the universe.

So this is going to take five years, right?

 

[Vio-Lence]

Ragnar Lothrok yes

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

Looks like it. It's also going to be set in the WarCraft: Orcs and Humans time period, apparently, which is surprising awesome and gives me actual hope for this movie being the first real good video game based movie.

That what I'd heard years ago and always hoped. Orcs vs Humans makes sense for a first movie and introducing the universe.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

Well...I hope the action will be good at least.

I guess the only question I have is; why wasn't this written by Metzen?

Supposedly they wanted to film to have a story instead of fantasy metal lyrics as a script.

 

[CrashPrime]

I guess the only question I have is; why wasn't this written by Metzen?

 

[Loxley]

For those that missed the info-dump we got about the movie from Blizzcon, here are my notes from my thread about it:

Film stuff - what we learned:

- The film will take place during the events of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, and will detail the first clash between, well, Orcs and Humans.
- Lothar and Durotan are the focus of the film
- Duncan Jones wanted to tell the origin of how these two races/cultures first encountered each other as opposed to jumping in the middle of a more recent Warcraft storyline.
- Metzen said they danced around a few different stories over the years but Duncan really wanted to tell this one
- The original screenplay (presumably the one from when Sam Raimi was still attached to direct) was apparently very "Alliance-centric". Jones wanted to spread the love out more evenly between the two factions.
- Jones wants the audience to be able to feel empathy for Orc heroes as much as the human ones.
- Orcs will be guys in suits/prosthetics with digital enhancements - as opposed to completely CGI.
- Trying to make the Orcs photo-realstic while also keeping them in that distinct Warcraft style is a challenge
- Orcs won't be monsters, they'll have just as much personality as the humans
- The Orc language is being fully fleshed out for the film, moreso than it ever was in the games
- Some characters will be completely CGI creations with motion-capture
- Film's aesthetic said to be a combination of "Avatar meets Game of Thrones" in terms of CGI-to-non-CGI
- Blizzard's creatives are heavily involved with the production, but obviously there is a balance between their input and the Hollywood guys
- The film will feature "the biggest swords you'll ever see on a human".
- WoW's style is difficult when approaching it from a practical, real perspective. Small things like shoulder-pad size and unsheathing weapons (when weapons in the Warcraft universe are so huge they don't have scabbards) - are things they've had to figure out how to translate to live-action and not make it silly.
- The film's tone will be "like Gladiator", very "down in the dirt, covered in grime"
- Film is not planned to be the start of a trilogy, Jones gives the indication that the movie will tell it's own story. But of course, if the film is successful, they'd love to keep making them.
- Speaking on the (lack of) diversity in the main cast of characters during this time in Warcraft's history, Rob Pardo acknowledges that it's mostly "Young white guys". This is mostly because - at the time of writing Orcs & Humans - the team at Blizzard were just a bunch of young white guys, so they were just writing what they knew.
- However, the Hollywood people have been pushing for more diversity, especially women. Jones says that there are a number of opportunities for strong female leads in the film based on the lore.
- "Why a movie and not a TV series?" - audience question. Metzen says they've been working on the film for so long that these days they could totally see it as a TV series thanks to Game of Thrones, but six or seven years ago, no way. It started as a film, so it'll stay a film.
- The film is cast for the most part.
- Film will likely be PG-13 (no real surprise), because you can get away with a lot in a PG-13 film these days.


Technical stuff:

- Bill Westenoffer is the VFX supervisor for the film (Recently won an Oscar for The Life of Pi, also worked on effects for The Golden Compass and the Chronicles of Narnia films)
- "Incredible team" at ILM will handle the film's effects
- Simon Duggin is the film's cinematographer (The Great Gatsby, i Robot)
- Paul Hirsch will edit the film (Worked with Jones on all of his previous films as well as The Empire Strikes Back and Ferris Bueller's Day Off)


Not specifically film stuff:

- Jones has played every Warcraft game to date, and other MMOs for years, was a clan leader in Ultima Online.
- Bill Westenoffer has been playing WoW since the alpha test. While working on VFX for The Golden Compass, he'd stay up until 2:00am to raid with his guild.

 

[Whompa]

The cast is really really good and so is the crew. Fingers crossed for a good videogame movie. Please be the break in film...

 

[Dance Inferno]

I don't know any of these actors. Let's hope they're good.

 

[KissVibes]

Nice, Ben Foster is a fucking awesome underrated actor.

Fucking yes, he is. Incredible talent.

 

[Hubb]

2 or 3 years too late, and its still years away?

They are playing the long game; waiting for it to be retro.

 

[Professor Lich]

For those that missed the info-dump we got about the movie from Blizzcon, here are my notes from my thread about it:

Thanks for that, missed it before.

 

[Flandy]

I read this as Walmart Movie lol

 

[ZeroX03]

That's a good cast. Talented bunch.

 

[Jangaroo]

What happened to the casting buzz about Colin Farrell being in the movie?

 

[Intheflorsh]

Who?
Who?
Who?
Who?

 

[Darkmakaimura]

I don't recognize any of the actors. I expect near Uwe Boll levels of bad.

 

[strafer]

If people don't recognise Ben Foster then they need to seriously watch more movies

 

[Angry Grimace]

I don't recognize any of the actors. I expect near Uwe Boll levels of bad.

I would be willing to bet its going to be a cheese-fest. There's literally no way I can imagine any part of the Warcraft storyline not being cheesy in a movie.

 

[sqwarlock]

I don't recognize any of the actors. I expect near Uwe Boll levels of bad.

Yeah, because Duncan Jones directing a talented, but mostly unknown, cast is a sure sign of disaster.

 

[Revolutionary]

Paula Patton is hot. Robin Thicke is a lucky man.

 

[hodayathink]

I can't believe they listed Flash Forward as one of Ben Foster's credits. Like, seriously, are there really enough people that remember that show to make it worth listing?

 

[MThanded]

Queen Lush Paula Patton.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Doesn't even come out for another 2 years. lol.

Should have just did a CG movie instead.

 

[teiresias]

I'm there if only hoping for Ben Foster and Rob Kazinsky shirtless scenes.

 

[inm8num2]

This might be one of those movies with such low expectations that it turns out to be a pleasant surprise.

 

[popyea]

It's so weird that people with actual talent are taking this movie on. The only thing that casts any doubt is the fact that it's a Warcraft movie.

 

[idlewild_]

For those that missed the info-dump we got about the movie from Blizzcon, here are my notes from my thread about it:

With the movie's date being pushed back to March 2016, I wonder if WoD will still be the current expansion. Looking at the story notes, it's almost as if they chose WoD's story to kind of fit with the movie.

 

[instinct6142]

going to be a steamy one, hope the toilet can handle all of it.

 

[Jharp]

Looks like it. It's also going to be set in the WarCraft: Orcs and Humans time period, apparently, which is surprising awesome and gives me actual hope for this movie being the first real good video game based movie.

I agree with the sentiment, but I have to say there's been so damn good adaptations. Mortal Kombat 1, while cheesy as all hell, managed to be a really entertaining action movie, and stayed very faithful to the game. Maye it's because I was like seven when it came out and obsessed over reading the back stories in manuals and strategy guides for MK, but I loved it. Every time I've watched it since, I've enjoyed it.

And I know it's divisive, but the first Silent Hill kicked ass too. Good horror film that did a good job of adapting the first three SH games into one story. I really loved it as both a horror fan and a SH fan. Too bad about the second one being so shitty, but I did enjoy its nods to the games, like Travis showing up at the end, and it's overall faithfulness to SH3.

 

[JDSN]

I don't recognize any of the actors. I expect near Uwe Boll levels of bad.

Of course, the director of Moon is like Uwe Boll cos you don't recognize a couple of relatively known actors l

 

[StoopKid]

Paula Patton

 

[Brick]

Ben Foster is great. I'm actually glad they aren't going with big name actors for this.

 

[drgambit]

 

[SteveWD40]

Toby Kebell is a terrific actor, people should watch his episode of Black Mirror (Entire History of you). Dom Cooper is also good, as is Foster.

Better cast than I expected.

Edit: and yeah, Duncan Jones is one of the better directors working today.

 

[yiepekaiyei]

I don't recognize any of the actors. I expect near Uwe Boll levels of bad.

if you don't recognize Duncan Jones for what he did, then you know nothing about movies.

 

[Jawmuncher]

If it's as awesome as that movie i'll be good to go.
D&D the movie was the perfect cheese and reminded me of a group of players who were drunk while playing their weekly game.

 

[Alec]

if you don't recognize Duncan Jones for what he did, then you know nothing about movies.

That's a bit of a stretch, but I feel your passion.

 

[10k]

I....I don't know who any of those people are. Which can be a good thing. Make a name for yourself with such a huge franchise.

 

[blast processed]

Nice to see Samuel Jackson not there.

 

[Skerj]

I can't believe they listed Flash Forward as one of Ben Foster's credits. Like, seriously, are there really enough people that remember that show to make it worth listing?

To be fair, that's what I always remember him from, if it weren't for Firefly then Jewel Staite would be there as well.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Happening