The geek collective rejoiced last night when it was announced that Duncan Jones, Zowie Bowie himself, is to direct the upcoming World of Warcraft film (tentatively titled Warcraft), which many had worried had become stagnant following the departure of Sam Raimi from the director's chair last summer. Jones, who is currently two-for-two as far as his track record goes - crafting two imaginative and intelligent sci-fi hits in Moon and Source Code - is a stellar choice for the task, and gives us plenty of hope that Warcraft might be the first certifiably great video game adaptation. Still, it's not going to be easy, and there's a lot that Jones needs to take heed of if he's going to craft a film that both manages to please the hardcore nerds and also more casual cinema-goers. If he surrounds himself with astute collaborators - and Blood Diamond screenwriter Charles Leavitt is a good start - then this could be the first video game adaptation to be a smash hit that also pays the respective property its fair due. Here are 10 things Warcraft needs...
10. Self-Awareness
World of Warcraft is a pop-culture milestone, and there's absolutely no getting around that fact; it's been parodied and referenced in just about every entertainment and educational medium thought possible, such that it will be impossible for Duncan Jones to ignore this fact. The problem with making a completely straight-faced WoW film is that it just wouldn't wash; overt self-seriousness will render the product unintentionally hilarious, given how well-known its tropes are, and how self-mocking Blizzard's own advertising campaign has been in the past (who can forget their classic star-studded ads?). The movie needs to be aware of its audience and its public perception, giving a heightened feel to what is going on and probably infusing the action with some light-hearted humour in much the same way that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films have done. If it's overly serious, the project will flop and audiences will end up bored as the film just goes dispassionately through the WoW motions that players have spent hundreds of hours familiarising themselves with.