A Live-Action Diablo Movie Is In Development
A Diablo movie is in the works. Here are the details.
This article is more than 2 years old
Video games and their cinematic adaptations have a bad reputation of not matching too well. It all started when Hollywood decided to hit the big screen with Super Mario Bros. in 1993, setting the stage for a long legacy of gaming-based box office flops. A similar fate didn’t miss the 2016’s Warcraft movie, which admittedly fared better than Super Mario Bros., but still got negative reviews among the critics. Now, Blizzard Entertainment is attempting another adaptation of its gaming IP, and this time we’re talking about their Diablo franchise. Yes, a live-action Diablo movie is currently in development.
In a story covered by That Hashtag Show, Blizzard Entertainment is currently developing a cinematic adaptation of their massively successful action role-playing hack and slash video game Diablo. From what we previously know, Blizzard is attempting to develop and release a Diablo movie set in that game’s universe for over a decade now, with very its success inversely proportional to the titular gaming franchise. And trust us, the Diablo gaming franchise was, and still is, a massive hit.
The details surrounding the Diablo movie are scarce, and very little information is known at the time of writing. Blizzard is developing Diablo as a live-action-CGI film, with the story’s first draft currently undergoing a re-write. However, the movie’s plot remains obscure, given how the project hasn’t moved from the whiteboard yet, but we suspect it will be tightly related to the game’s narrative. Blizzard Entertainment still hasn’t made any official announcements regarding the movie, but knowing how the company operates, the announcement is likely to occur at any of the future BlizzCon gaming conventions. Maybe February next year?
While we wait for an official announcement, it’s worth noting that Blizzard Entertainment intends to produce and distribute the Diablo movie using “in-house” distribution methods, probably through their Battle.net launcher and standard VOD channels. Netflix would’ve been a fantastic choice; however, the two companies had a falling out regarding Blizzard’s previous adaptation attempt, which involved Netflix producing an animated series set in the Diablo universe back in August 2018. According to rumors, Netflix and Blizzard couldn’t come to terms in regards to profit sharing, and the entire endeavor was canceled.
More than two years have passed since Blizzard and Netflix announced and canceled the Diablo animated series. In the meantime, the gaming franchise announced the fourth installment in the Diablo gaming franchise, Diablo IV, which continues the main narrative set by the previous games. For those unfamiliar with Diablo, it all started in 1997, when Blizzard North released the original Diablo game, which became a massive pre-release hit, shipping over 500,000 pre-ordered units on day one. Its enormous success was continued by the game’s sequels and their respective expansions to this day. Diablo II, which was released in 2000, remains immensely popular, while Diablo III sold over 3.5 million copies within the first 24 hours of its release, setting a new record for “the fastest-selling PC game.”
The story of Blizzard developing a Diablo movie goes through the decades, and this new, albeit unofficial, announcement should be taken with a grain of salt. The company still hasn’t made any official announcements, and we might have to wait for the next BlizzCon to witness it. We suggest playing through the latest Diablo III expansion, Rise of the Necromancer, to pass the time as we wait.
