Just yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter published an in-depth piece that shed some light on the business relationship between Universal, Legendary and Warner Bros., offering up all number of findings including the fact that the latter two studios are ruminating on a King Kong V Godzilla mash-up along with news that Pacific Rim: Maelstrom has been delayed indefinitely.
Indeed, Guillermo del Toro’s creature feature is no longer a sure-thing, but it isn’t the only CG-heavy blockbuster that allegedly has Universal concerned. Among the discussion of high-profile reboots and potential trilogies, THR’s report suggests that the studio considers Duncan Jones’ Warcraft to be a “problem movie,” lumping the director’s live-action take on Azeroth in with Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall.
Taking to Twitter, Jones himself offered a response to the allegation, asking fans not to worry about the label. After all, Universal is the company to have shifted Warcraft from March to June – likely to avoid Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice – which underlines that they do indeed have confidence in the director’s vision.
@CLAWX I wouldn’t worry about that. Universal moved us to the same date as Jurassic World, so we must have done something right!
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) September 16, 2015
Universal’s mixed messaging is nothing new, really, particularly when you take into consideration the mammoth budget tethered to Jones’ fantastical blockbuster. There’s been no official footage released to date, but anything that’s seeped between the seams has hinted at a mythical epic on the scale of The Lord of the Rings, brought to life with the Industrial Light & Magic tech wizards.
Charting the early encounters between two warring factions – The Alliance and the Horde – Jones has rustled up an ensemble cast that includes Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Travis Fimmel, Ben Schnetzer, Toby Kebbell, Rob Kazinsky and Clancy Brown.
Duncan Jones will bring the mystical realm of Azeroth to the silver screen when Warcraft opens on June 10, 2016
