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Blizzard’s Vice president of creative development, Chris Metzen, has said the progress on the World of Warcraft movie has slowed, but it’s still happening.

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The original screenwriter for the World of Warcraft movie, Gary Whitta, sat down with 1UP to discuss the drafts he had written for Blizzard before director Sam Rami decided to go a different direction with Saving Private Ryan writer Robert Rodat.

Turns out, Whitta’s final product included all the major races, place and some Easter eggs people who play the game would immediately connect with.

“I did actually write three different drafts of the script, and I worked very closely with Blizzard over the period of about a year or so,” Whitta told the 4 Guys podcast. “I think in the end I came up with a movie that I thought was really cool, but what happened with Sam [Raimi] is that they always wanted a big director, and they landed one of the biggest with Sam. I think he’ll make an incredible movie. But he just had a very different vision. He wanted to tell a completely different story, so they went a different way.

“I thought I did a good job – that people who love the game would get a good account of the world. All the major races, all the major places, and some of the lesser known ones were in there. There were some cool Easter eggs if you really knew the game back to front

“I felt that it was true to the world of the game. I felt we did a good job of that, and I’m sure Sam’s version will do the same.”

More through the link.

Blizzard and Legendary Pictures announced today that Sam Raimi has signed on to direct the motion picture based on the Warcraft universe.

“At its core, Warcraft is a fantastic, action-packed story,” said Raimi. “I am thrilled to work with such a dynamite production team to bring this project to the big screen.”

Charles Roven (The Dark Knight, Batman Begins) is set to produce, and Blizzard senior VP of creative development, Chris Metzen, will co-produce.

“Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have a shared vision for this film and we searched at length to find the very best director to bring that vision to life,” said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard.

“From our first conversation with Sam, we could tell he was the perfect choice. Sam knows how to simultaneously satisfy the enthusiasts and the mainstream audience that might be experiencing that content for the first time. We’re looking forward to working with him to achieve that here.”

Further details about the upcoming Warcraft movie, including cast and targeted release date, will be revealed as development progresses.

With Sam directing, Bruce Campbell will be thrown in there somewhere, we reckon.

Press release through the break.

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