Sam Raimi to Direct Warcraft Movie

Ain't It Cool News just broke the story that Sam Raimi, the director of the cult classic Evil Dead series and the Spider-Man films has been tagged as the director for Blizzard's Warcraft movie. Legendary Pictures and Blizzard will produce the film, while Warner Bros. will co-finance the picture and has secured distribution rights.

The Warcraft film will be a big-budget live action adaptation of the popular PC game franchise.

"At its core, 'Warcraft' is a fantastic, action-packed story," Raimi said in a statement.

Blizzard senior VP of creative development Chris Metzen will co-produce the film alongside film and television producer Robert Tapert.

Gerald says: Don't you just love Comic-Con? The convention hasn't even started yet, and we're already seeing the bombs drop. Sam Raimi strikes me as the sort of director that "gets it," and should do a superb job. I might be saying that because Army of Darkness is one of my favorite films of all-time, but you'll forgive me that. It doesn't hurt that Chris Metzen is involved to ensure that the storyline stays true to Blizzard's beloved property.

I believe they'll be introducing a new hero and telling the story of the conflict between the Horde and the Alliance from the Alliance perspective, which might be a misstep. I'd love to see the story of the Warchief brought to life.

For the Horde!

©2009-07-22, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved