Best Director winner Chloé Zhao’s latest project revealed: A brief teaser for the video game “Diablo IV” [Watch]
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An acrobatic archer, a sorceress, a shapeshifting barbarian, skeletons-with-swords, and a frightened child. These are just a few of the characters you’ll meet in the minute-long trailer for Blizzard Entertainment’s upcoming blockbuster video game “Diablo IV.” And if this has a more cinematic look than most ads targeting the joystick set, that’s no surprise. The trailer is co-directed by Chloe Zhao alongside Kiku Ohe.
Few would have predicted, watching the 2015 independent film “Songs My Brother Taught Me,” just how mainstream Zhao would become in just a few years. After a similarly elegiac look at the American West with “The Rider,” Zhao teamed with Frances McDormand for “Nomadland.” The 2020 feature was an awards smash, winning Zhao two Oscars – Best Picture as a producer and Best Director. McDormand also took home two trophies during that ceremony, her third Best Actress award following “Fargo” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” as well as her own Best Picture Oscar as a producer. (“Nomadland” also won the top prizes at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, not bad!)
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Technically, Zhao had already taken a leap while “Nomadland” was on the awards trail: She had signed on to direct the Marvel film “Eternals,” which debuted with mixed reviews in 2021.
But today’s project keeps the Chinese-born filmmaker in league with, as our friends at San Diego Comic-Con call it, “The Popular Arts.”
The “Diablo” series goes all the way back to 1997. For God’s sake, I was still playing “Minesweeper” back then. The newest iteration of the series, which launches in less than two weeks, will be available to play on both Xbox and PlayStation consoles, as well as for the hardest of hardcore nerds who play video games on their PCs. (Have you ever met such a person? They are more Cheez Doodle than man!)
In a press release, Zhao said, “Working with Blizzard, we had the wonderful opportunity to bring the dark, thrilling, and imaginative world of ‘Diablo IV’ to life. ‘Diablo’ fans are very passionate, and many have been with the game for over two decades. We want to do right by the fans, honor the game’s rich lores and visceral world-building while evoking the strong emotions the players feel while immersing in the game.”
Zhao’s next feature project is “Hamnet,” based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell. The book reframes the development of the play “Hamlet,” suggesting it is more autobiographical than people realize. (Did you know William Shakespeare had a son named Hamnet, who died at a young age? Did you remember that Shakespeare’s wife was named Anne Hathaway? Every time I am reminded of that I go “oh, yeah!”) “Hamnet” is set up with Amblin Entertainment, but casting has yet to be announced.
Zhao’s “Diablo IV” teaser is below.
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