Blizzard has always been a cinematic game developer. Its focus on storytelling and cutscenes (both in-engine and out) is undeniable, with Hollywood-quality tales of heroism, revenge and war. Way back in 2006, Blizzard announced that it was working with Legendary Pictures to make a live-action movie set in the "WarCraft" universe, and last year it was announced that Sam Raimi would be directing the film. Rob Pardo, the EVP of Game Design at Blizzard recently spoke to me about the progress of the "WarCraft" film and whether Blizzard has any other Hollywood aspirations for its franchises.
Regarding the "WarCraft" movie, Pardo said that there's not a whole lot to report on at the moment. "We're still super excited about it," he said, "but it's still in that story-development phase."
With the success of "StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty" it certainly makes you wonder whether other Blizzard franchises might make it to the silver screen. Pardo said that the company has always wanted to go this route with its franchises, but that they really need to find the right production team for project.
"We've always had an interest in seeing our stuff on film or TV. It's just tricky to find the right partners. We probably could have made a ['StarCraft'] movie or something on TV years and years ago, but it's really important to us that we find creative people that are really talented but also really excited about our properties. That's always been the challenge for us. I think if Jim Cameron came to us tomorrow and said, 'You want to make a 'StarCraft' movie?' we'd probably sign that."
Pardo went on to emphasize that, with the "World of WarCraft" movie, Blizzard found such a partnership. "That's why we did the 'WoW' movie. We were really excited about being involved with Legendary Pictures, who we thought had a really good track record with these sorts of movies that would make sense for our franchises."
So, James Cameron, ball's in your court! If you need contact info for the Blizzard folks, just let me know. I'd be happy to hook you up.