The World of Warcraft movie now has an official release date.  Universal Pictures announced today that director Duncan Jones’ Warcraft will be released on December 18, 2015, ensuring at least one fantasy epic event movie will be in theaters for the holiday season.  Officially described as “an epic adventure of world-colliding conflict,” Warcraft will square off directly against Ron Howard’s Dan Brown adaptation Inferno on the pre-Christmas date, but rumors have swirled that Star Wars: Episode VII might be eyeing a December date as well.  We recently learned that Paula Patton is in negotiations for a lead role in the film with Colin Farrell also being eyed for a lead, and the short list for a couple of other roles reportedly includes Paul Dano, Anton Yelchin, Travis Fimmel, and Anson Mount.

Legendary Pictures is producing Warcraft, which will be distributed by Universal Pictures as part of Legendary’s new deal with the studio after cutting ties with Warner Bros.  Jones also wrote the screenplay with Charles Leavitt, and Charles Roven is producing alongside Alex Gartner, Thomas Tull, and Jon Jashni.  Filming is slated to begin on January 13th.