WoW Movie.

[Innit]

• Classes will be represented in the film. Metzer wants people to see familiar elements from the game, including armor sets, weapons and items as much as possible.

• It’s definitely going to be a live-action film. CG fans will have to be content watching those opening cinemas.

• No director or actors have been attached to the project yet, though the team is in talks with possible directors.

• The film will explore the perceptions—or misperceptions—of the Horde being evil and Alliance being good.

• It’s hard to predict a rating so early in the process, but the team is aiming for a minimum PG-13 rating. As Tull said, Lord of the Rings was intense and PG-13, while other movies with the same rating can be lame. Expect brutal action, whatever the rating—it’s World of Warcraft, not World of Pillowfighting, Sams added.

• Don’t expect to see an epic journey across the lands of Azeroth. This is a war movie, so you’re going to see huge powers moving and cultures grinding against one another.

• There’s no call yet on whether the Undead will be making an appearance. They’re still trying to determine if the film will be set before or after the Scourge align themselves with the Horde forces.

• The film will be told principally from the Alliance’s perspective. When the crowd booed, Metzer stood up and showed off his Horde belt buckle. He tried to explain that audiences might not empathize with Thrall, a huge green guy, when a heckler responded, “What about Shrek?” Much backpedaling ensued, but Metzer stood by the Alliance story hook.

• They’re not too concerned about building a franchise right now—they want to nail the first movie first, and then worry about others.

• The essential conflict between Horde and Alliance will be the focus, so don’t expect to see them high-five and pony for the big win, as Metzer put it.

• Lore will be respected, unsurprisingly.

• Humor is critical to the games, and the team is trying to figure out how best to incorporate that humor into the film.

• The director will have a strong hand in it, but the film will be grounded in the real world. Well, the real world of Azeroth. Don’t expect things to look like a CG dreamscape.

• The team isn’t aiming for huge Hollywood stars.

• The art and cinematic work from Blizzard’s teams will be used as inspiration, but the team hasn’t yet discussed how to incorporate their work in the film—if at all.

Finally, a concept painting of World Tree was shown. It was cool to see it for the first time, a titanic tree set against a violet moonlit sky. With the film being so early in the planning stages, a trailer—even a teaser—would have been out of the question. We’ll be following progress on this project, and we’ll keep you updated with more news and information as it becomes available.