But if the response to a15-second teaseris any indication, the filmmaker behindMoonandSource Codedoesnt have anything to worry about.
Its been a long time coming, he says with a laugh.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It seems like youre having quite a day on the Internet.
DUNCAN JONES:Its been fun.
Its edifying that the people we made this for are liking it so far.
So the obsessive screenshots Im seeing, is that a surprise to you at this point?
I kind of expected it [laughs].
How does the extra scrutiny from the fans make you feel?
Weve always been fortunate.
We felt good that wed be coming from the right place.
What were the conversations about how faithful this film should be to the games?
I am someone who playedWarcraft, but at the same time, I consider myself a filmmaker first.
Thats why it took such a long time.
Peter Jackson went through this withThe Fellowship of the Ring.
Obviously, we dont have the amount of history that Tolkien does.
Its a different fanbase, somewhat overlapping.
We have the same passion amongst our fans, so it was a similar job.
Just as Tolkien inspired fantasy literature, modern fantasy films have all followed in the wake of Jacksons films.
How did those affect your process?
I think there are different schools of fantasy from different parts of the world.
Tolkien and, to a certain extent,Warcrafthave a similar genetic starting place through European myth and folklore.
It has included an awful lot more in it.
Whats the difference between presenting at BlizzCon and Comic-Con?
Its very different because theyre absolutely audiences looking for different things.
I think the BlizzCon crowd is absolutely what we would call our hardcore crowd.
Comic-Con is very different.
Theres an interesting rivalry there, I think.
Whats your feeling about fans picking outWarcraftandAssassins Creedas the two films that could break the videogame movie curse?
There are a couple of things.
One thing I would say is that that stigma used to be attached to comic book movies too.
I think thats absolutely the same with whats going on with videogame movies.
I am absolutely of the videogames generation, starting on the Atari and Commodore 64 and the Amiga.
Im a gamer at heart and always have been.
Im also a filmmaker.
For me, it doesnt really matter what the source of the narrative is.
I will be looking for ways to make it into an intriguing story with empathetic characters.
What were the big challenges in putting together this first trailer?
Theres an entirely new world, new characters.
This is beyond theWarcraftfaithful, who know what it is that were talking about.
Also, what kind of subject matter is it?
What kind of fantasy is it?
There will be different pieces that we have to address over the seven months until our film comes out.
Are you done-done with film?
Im hoping and looking forward to potentially working on an indie sci-fi thing of my own quite soon.
Were ready to roll.
From my perspective, I think thats a good sense of Universals faith in us.
Originally, we were on this December date, and thenStar Warscame and sat on it.
Do you just watchWarcrafton your phone because you’re able to?
Weve been waiting nearly three years now to see what people think of what weve been doing.
Ive just been enjoying the excitement.
