The world at large has been waiting a very long time for a proper gander at Duncan Jones’ Warcraft movie. Despite a first look at Comic-Con last year, and logos and props on display, the characters have been tantalisingly out of reach. Until now, that is, with Wired magazine debuting images of orc warchief Orgrim played in the movie by Robert Kazinsky.
Part of the reason for Jones and his team holding back on footage is that the effects wizards at Industrial Light And Magic are still busy turning raw footage of performance-capture work, concept art and empty scene plates into shots of marauding armies and quieter character moments. As for Orgrim, he certainly has the right look, and Jones explains why he picked Kazinsky to play the multi-faceted creature: “We were looking for someone who would be able to perform the gruffness, the humour, and the toughness of this character.” ILM and the director are promising the most life-like creatures yet seen on screen for the film, which has enjoyed an unusually long post-production process thanks to the requirements involved.
As for the film’s plot, Jones has already talked about that. “From the moment I first talked to Blizzard, the plan was to start our film with the first time Orcs met Humans,” he says. “First contact! I think that for a world with so much newness to explain, this was a wise choice, especially when so many people in our audience may not know anything about Warcraft... It was important that some of our characters would be seeing the world fresh as well, and that the audience could see the situation through their eyes. A Warcraft film should not be about a good race of humans battling an evil race of orcs. Warcraft should be about heroes on both sides trying to avoid a conflict, when villains leave them no choice.”
Warcraft invades cinemas on both sides of the pond on June 10, 2016. Fun fact: while Orgrim’s full title is Orgrim Doomhammer, his mum calls him “My little warrior-worrier.”