Blizzard’s beloved 1998 video game StarCraft has long been a favorite of professional and casual gamers alike, but has yet to make the transition from the video game world into film or TV. Despite many rumors over the years and the series’ success as a game franchise, in novelizations, and with a variety of collectibles and merchandise, no film or TV adaptation has been confirmed.
StarCraft follows the story of a splintered faction of humans known as Terrans who mistakenly end up in far off reaches of space where they develop a new civilization. The Confederacy of Man comes under attack by both the Zerg and the Protoss, two genetically engineered species who compete for superiority in this area of space, while human rebels further complicate the state of their world.
While Blizzard may be prioritizing other properties right now, StarCraft is still a classic fan favorite that remains relevant to this day. And, with the success of sci-fi properties like The Expanse and The Mandalorian as well as successful video game adaptations like The Witcher, now is a great time to revisit StarCraft.
Originally created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney at Blizzard Entertainment, Starcraft was first released in 1998, debuting at E3 1996 with a modified Warcraft II game engine. The series has since gone on to be known as one of the benchmark real-time strategy games of its time with a loyal following worldwide, earning a star on the Walk of Game in 2006 and being awarded four Guinness World Records.
Because of its popularity as one of Blizzard’s top properties, there have been many rumors over the years of a StarCraft movie being in development, though that idea has never come to fruition. First proposed prior to 2006, James Waugh, then the Director of Story and Creative Development at Blizzard Entertainment and now the VP at Lucasfilms, tried to have StarCraft optioned as a movie, but was unable to move forward. At Blizzcon 2007, Chris Metzen, a game designer known for his work on Blizzard properties like StarCraft, was asked about the possibility of StarCraft being developed into a movie, and while he didn’t confirm that the idea was in the works, he responded that if it were to happen, the film wouldn’t be about Nova, a ghost agent who is the protagonist of the StarCraft: Ghost sub-series.
In a 2010 interview with MTV, Rob Pardo, EVP of Game Design at Blizzard, confirmed that the company is interested in an adaptation — if the right people were involved:
We've always had an interest in seeing our stuff on film or TV. It's just tricky to find the right partners. We probably could have made a [StarCraft] movie or something on TV years and years ago, but it's really important to us that we find creative people that are really talented but also really excited about our properties.
He then went on to name James Cameron as a great person for the job; however, no further details have been released to indicate that the project is moving forward.
Despite the lack of concrete evidence coming for a real StarCraft adaptation, there is still hope: In 2015 when the Blizzard film production company, Activision Blizzard Studios, was first formed in the wake of the Warcraft movie, StarCraft was listed as being a franchise they might develop a film for in the future. With the rise of more niche video game TV series like The Witcher and Tales from the Loop, now may finally be the time to move forward with a screen adaptation of StarCraft — as a TV series. The episodic nature of television would be a better format to capture the intricate narrative of the game's universe. The cut scenes for the video game are already very near movie-quality already, and it’s clear that love for StarCraft is still just as alive as it has always been.
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