Masi Oka developing MMO-related movie
by Mike Schramm 
Jun 9th 2009 at 7:00PM
Masi Oka plays the fan-favorite character Hiro on the television show Heroes, but that's not the only role he plays -- we've heard before that he's a big World of Warcraft player as well (which makes sense -- before his star turn on NBC's superhero show, he actually worked at Industrial Light and Magic developing water effects, so he's a geek at heart). And now he's using his MMO experience to create a movie: he's just signed a deal with Dreamworks to create a movie called "The Defenders," a family adventure about a group of teens playing an MMO who have to come together to have some adventures of their own. Both Oka and writer Gary Whitta are fans of WoW, so they're drawing on their experience in the game to put together the project. Oka tells the Hollywood Reporter that "the question came to me: What if you had to live up to the person you created in the virtual world?" He also cites The Goonies as an inspiration for the story, as an adventure that brings back an innocence found in those old Amblin Entertainment films.Sounds interesting. It might be aimed a little young for the average WoW player (even The Goonies, while considered a cult classic nowadays, was really aimed at kids in the '80s), but a film that can take a good look at the comparison between our in-game selves and their real-life counterparts (and have some fun doing it) would definitely be something to see. The project's only just getting underway now, but we'll keep an eye out for it.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Odds and ends
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kozom Jun 9th 2009 7:05PM
He better be a mage (blink, teleport, and slow :P)
Mikey B. Jun 9th 2009 7:09PM
Yatta!
ralcocer3 Jun 9th 2009 11:27PM
I was totally thinking that at first glance of his picture
Kraf Jun 9th 2009 7:19PM
awsome o.o ... and ye he's prolly a mage
Kraf Jun 9th 2009 7:20PM
I love how the backround behind him his maxim and corona XD
efrdman2008 Jun 9th 2009 8:49PM
Although I love Masi... For some reason I think this is going to be full of fail
Lemons Jun 10th 2009 1:36AM
This
jsin1276 Jun 10th 2009 3:41PM
Come up with your own idea... The Guild.
Drahliana Jun 10th 2009 8:15AM
Anyone remember that 5 novel series about some college students playing D+D (actually a similar un-named game) who get zapped into the gameworld by their dungeon master? (who turns out to be a wizard from that world who's been hiding on ours as a college professor.)
The title of the series escapes me because it's too early at work :) but as I recall it was a pretty good piece of work.
Mallarme Jun 10th 2009 9:59AM
sounds like a rip off of the D&D cartoon from the 80s.