It's still going to be a while until we actually get to see Duncan Jones' upcoming Warcraft movie, with a release date that's still more than a year away, but today we have a special treat. Our first look at one of the main orc characters in the film has arrived online, and he looks incredible.
Wired debuted this brand new image - which was then shared by Duncan Jones - and the work here is pretty jaw-dropping. This is the first image of actor Robert Kazinsky as Orgrim, made with the magic of performance capture and constructed by the folks at Industrial Light and Magic. It truly looks amazing and lifelike, and it will be exciting to see it when it's actually in motion.
But that's not all! While the above image is just a touch plain thanks to his simple white background, Duncan Jones was also kind enough to share what looks more legitimately like an actual still from the film - not only providing a wider shot of Kazinsky as Orgrim, but also putting him an environment in which he looks much more natural.
The Wired piece about the image unfortunately doesn't really provide any new details about the Orgrim's portrayal in Warcraft, outside of identifying him as a warchief, but there is some interesting information about how the character's likeness was built. It began with ILM reaching out to Blizzard Entertainment for concept art - of which they surely have plenty, having spent many, many years developing Warcraft games. From there, the visual effects studio merged the look of the artwork with photographs and facial scans of Robert Kazinsky, hoping to make the character more lifelike. Of course, this was then layered on top of the performance that Kazinsky delivered on set while wearing the standard motion capture suit, and it all will come together to look like what you see above.
Robert Kazinsky is obviously taking center stage in these first look images, but he is part of an impressive ensemble that Duncan Jones has put together for his video game epic. The rest of the cast includes the likes of Travis Fimmel, Toby Kebbell, Paula Patton, Dominic Cooper, Ben Foster, Clancy Brown, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Ruth Negga - playing a mix of human and orc roles. Production wrapped up last year, but the movie is now going through a long post-production process to be ready for its big theatrical release next summer on June 10, 2016.
