Sam Raimi to Direct "World of Warcraft" Movie

According to Hollywood studio Legendary Pictures Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is to make a film based on video game World of Warcraft.

Photo: Sam Raimi to Direct "World of Warcraft" Movie

The movie is set to be a live action version of the popular game, which enables players to become characters including dwarves, orcs and trolls, BBC News reports.

"Warcraft" made its debut in 1994 as a real-time strategy game based on a conflict between the Horde and the Alliance and was developed into the massively multiplayer online game "World of Warcraft" in 2004 which has developed a huge following.

"World of Warcraft" now holds the Guiness World Record as the most popular massively multiplayer online game with more than 11.5 million monthly subscribers as well as having a lucrative range of licensed products.

The two companies said they were confident that Raimi, who also directed "Evil Dead," was the ideal man to satisfy Warcraft enthusiasts as well as a mainstream audience, Reuters reports.

Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said:

"Warcraft is emblematic of the kind of branded, event films for which our studio is best known," while Raimi added, "At its core, Warcraft is a fantastic, action-packed story."

Raimi’s resume includes a stint as executive producer of Xena: Warrior Princess, and helming the third installment of the Evil Dead series, Army of Darkness.

World of Warcraft, of course, is a massively popular multiplayer online role-playing game with over 11 million subscribers. The most recent expansion pack sold more than 2.8 million copies on the first day of release alone, with more than 4 million copies in its first month, Digitaltrends.com reports.