Geek Speak: Next Director for World of Warcraft Movie? [BLOG]

World of Warcraft (WoW) players have been salivating at the prospect of a movie being made out of the incredibly successful and downright epic massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMPORG).

Despite movie adaptations of computer games and comic books being infamously hit and miss (note the difference between the glory of Resident Evil and Silent Hill franchises compared with the atrocities of Uwe Boll), with over 10.2m WoW subscribers,, movie executives are hoping to replicate the success on the big screen.

Apparently, Blizzard CEO Paul Sams replied to Boll's attempts at applying for the director role with "We will not sell the movie rights, not to you...especially not to you."

Well, that's a relief.

(Those unfamiliar with the director should just do a quick Google search to get a flavour for his films).

However, cult geek favourite director Sam Raimi has now pulled out of the WoW movie adaptation, which has left many players weeping into their keyboards. It is now 6 years since the announcement of a film and there is still no director.

Raimi, famed for his Evil Dead splatter horror creation and subsequent Spider-man film trilogy, initially stalled filming as he started work directing the new Wizard of Oz movie, Oz: The Great and Powerful.

Apparently, the film studio Legendary Pictures couldn't wait around any longer and decided to roll a new director; one that is yet unknown.

So here are at Geek Speak we decided to carve up a wishlist of the top potential directors for the film and hopefully they play Horde (ahem).

Guillermo Del Toro

Anyone who has watched Hellboy and arguably the better follow-up, Hellboy: The Golden Army, and Pan's Labyrinth knows that the Mexican director, producer, screenwriter and all round physical manifestation of "awesome", will know what he is capable of.

Turning graphic novels, comic literature and art into gritty realist adaptations, while capturing the fantastical beauty of the characters without slapping on the cheese factor is his forte. There is no doubt about it.

The WoW movie maybe just what the franchise needs to turn the game into a viable, watchable and tent-pole movie without turning it in a CGI travesty like the Polar Express or BBC drama school fantasy like Harry Potter.

With WoW appealing to maybe the more mature audience, Del Toro maybe the antidote to a possibly poisoned chalice.

Joss Whedon

Any nerd worth their weight in 1-ups will know Whedon.

2012 has arguably been THE year for the director to successfully transcend cult TV (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Angel, Dollhouse) into mega blockbusting movie offerings that have appealed to wider mainstream audiences, as well as fanboys.

Marvel's The Avengers became the third highest grossing film of all time and successfully married several comic book legends into one movie, while The Cabin in the Woods brought together several horror genre themes and tropes into one epic movie that drew in crowds.

Jon Favreau

The initially indie film actor has successfully forged his career into a successful director and could be a potential candidate for the WoW movie director role.

The auteur would have geek sympathy, as his hugely well received and successful Iron Man movie franchise proved, as well as his voice acting in the Star Wars: Clone Wars TV series.

He has the potential of bringing the MMPORG to the big screen with success but the only risk is that he could turn it into an overly family friendly pile of saccharine- as immortalised with the criminally diabolical Cowboys and Aliens and Elf.

Peter Jackson

OK, so he is an obvious choice and frankly it would be surprising that he would sign up to the delayed gig, following his The Hobbit endeavours and such.

The man needs no introduction but it is worth noting how deftly Jackson managed to turn the complex and vast JRR Tolkein universe into a coherent, enjoyable, dense and imaginative masterpiece that transcended all ages and audiences.

He is also, in a way, a pioneer and hugely adventurous when it comes to CGI and model work, which would bode well for the fantasy realm in WoW.