By Yesterday we reported that Universal feels Warcraft is a “problem movie.” While The Hollywood Reporter didn’t elaborate on what “problem movie” might mean, we speculated that it may be related to the long post-production process, a ballooning budget, the overall quality of the film, and/or the decline in popularity for Warcraft as a brand.
Director Duncan Jones responded to the report on Twitter yesterday:
@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
/Film points out that the early June spot is the same week that Universal released Jurassic World (one of the biggest international releases of all time) earlier this year. Then again, this isn’t quite the full story about the release date.
As we reported back in July, Warcraft was originally supposed to come out in December of this year, but it was moved to next summer so it wouldn’t have to compete against Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Rather than a strategic show of faith in Warcraft, the movie was simply shifted to an advantageous spot in the summer that is not necessarily linked to the success of Jurassic World.
That’s not to undercut Jones, who’s doing his job and standing by the film he made. And despite the vague notion of a “problem movie,” I do have faith in the man who made Moon. I’m cautiously cautious about this whole thing.
Expect more details in the coming weeks and months, or at least maybe a trailer for Warcraft by the end of the year.
[via /Film]