Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and Legendary Pictures announced today via press release that they've found a director for their highly anticipated motion picture adaptation of Warcraft and as it turns out, it will be none other than Sam Raimi, the man behind such films as the Evil Dead, Darkman, Spider-Man and this summers Drag Me To Hell.
The news comes as a welcome surprise and Blizzard clearly seems very excited about the promise of a Raimi-helmed Warcraft picture:
"Partnering with Sam Raimi exemplifies Legendary's mandate of marrying the highest quality intellectual property to world-class filmmakers" said Legendary's Tull. "Sam's passion for 'Warcraft' is undeniable and we know that he will create an incredible film worthy of Blizzard's phenomenal franchise."
Raimi was quick to release his own statement and excitement over the upcoming project, saying:
"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."
The film will be produced by Charles Roven, who's talents brought last summer's The Dark Knight to the big screen as well as the sci-fi classic 12 Monkeys. With such immense filmmaking talent behind the project, could this shape up to become the first truly great video game-to film adaptation? Time will tell, but thus far, the promise is looking pretty "groovy."
Read the full press release here.