Warriors movie

This article is not a part of the Warriors universe and is from the real world.

Warriors movie
Attribution information
Producer(s):	Gigi Pritzker and David Heyman
Writer(s):	Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger
Production information
Distributor:	Alibaba Pictures

The Warriors movie was the working title for a canceled live action CGI animated movie based on the book series. After the announcement of the Warriors animation in 2024, Vicky announced that the film was canceled.

Production

On November 19th, 2016, David Heyman, producer of the Harry Potter movie franchise, was signed on by Alibaba Pictures to produce the Warriors film. Heyman describes the project as "a perfect Chinese-British project." STX board member Gigi Pritzer will produce the movie alongside Heyman.

According to the release, a deal for the film rights was signed in October between Alibaba Pictures, Working Partners and its parent company Coolabi Group Limited at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany.

"Heyman is the perfect pick to produce the film," said Alibaba Pictures President Zhang Wei in the statement. "His talent and experience in filmmaking is sure to make Warriors a world-class blockbuster." Zhang also promised the fans that the film "wouldn't disappoint," saying that "Alibaba Pictures is planning to turn Warriors into a film franchise that will bring to life the spectacular animal and jungle worlds depicted in the novels, using world-leading visual effects." Zhang Wei mentions it will be "a series of movies."

On May 14th, 2018, award winning Hollywood pair, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, have signed on to be the screenwriters for the film.

David Heyman and Alibaba Pictures do not know how many adaptations would be made out of the novels. The producer added, "The interesting thing about the books is there are such a lot of narratives. And the books are still being written, so there will be as many films as long as we can keep telling interesting stories and the audience is receptive of it. We'll keep on making it."

The first live-action film with computer-generated characters will be an origin story, which follows the path of main character Rusty, a pet cat raised by humans, and his joining a wild cat Clan in the forest.

As of 2019, the language for the film is unknown, and may not necessarily be an English language or Chinese language movie. "The beauty of it is there are no humans walking around in the stories. What you have is you have cats. Cats are not specific to any country," David Heyman said about the movie. "Though I suspect it'd probably be set in a forest in the U.K., because the authors are British. We may use actors anywhere. It's too early to tell, but we're open to all possibilities."

The film will be a China - U.K co-production between Alibaba Pictures and Heyman's Heyday Films. Heyman spoke about the project and its Chinese roots. "Everybody wants to get into China, and China wants its culture out there," said Heyman. "It's not easy; there are different techniques in storytelling. Even though there is a lot of common ground emotionally and spiritually, and thematically. So I believe it is possible, and I believe what is great about this Warriors adaptation is that it's not Chinese, it's not British, it's both. And so it's the very best way for that soft power to be expressed."

Motion picture will not be used to capture the cats' performance. Instead, they will use actors for reference.

There is no budget set for the film yet - the cost of filming and visual effects would have to be looked at before a budget can be properly set.

On the Italian paperback version of Starlight, a Warriors movie is mentioned for late 2018, but no official release date has been given by the producers. This date is later proven to be incorrect due to the cancelation.

When asked about involving the authors for the Warriors film, Heyman said, "with “Harry Potter” and “Paddington,” in neither of those cases were [the novelists] involved on a daily basis. But I’m an inclusive producer. Same with “The Light Between Oceans” or “The Yes Man.” I’ve done a lot of adaptations, and it is important that there be a separation between the book and the film. Because it is not a translation; it is an adaptation. But I always like sharing it with authors so they can prepare for the fact that it is different medium. But I’ve been lucky that the authors have understood that – Michael Bond, Jo [Rowling], and John Boyne [author of “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”] have been generous and understanding. But it is a little nerve-wracking when you show them the script. I generally don’t show then the first draft. I usually want it a little further along."

The amount of books in the Warriors series was also mentioned to Heyman, who responded with, "Everything in the world. “Potter” was the same. Warner acquired the first one, and then there were trigger points for subsequent books. What I don’t know is how many [films] there will be. With “Potter,” we did one book, one film, until the end, and then we did two films with the last book. With this, we don’t yet know if we will be working across multiple books. I imagine that we will use more than the first book in the first film. It is like a really excellent melodrama. It could be a wonderful long-running TV show as well, because of its complexity and the amount of narrative within. What is important is that you try and give it a unity and it doesn’t just feel like a series of episodes."

The timetable for the movie has not been set yet. When asked about this, Heyman told the reporter, "None has been set. We have to find a good writer first. It is much better to work this way. I hate working to release schedules. I have and I do. But I always prefer to have the luxury of making something as good as it can be. “Paddington” was a good example of that. One of the challenges, after Warner Bros. put it into turnaround, was actually slowing down the process because I didn’t feel it was ready. One of the many gifts that “Potter” has given me is the ability to say: “Let’s not rush. I don’t need to make this. And if I’m going to make it, it needs to be good.” So the project took seven or eight years. I’m hoping “Warriors” won’t take so long."

Warriors will not be a low budget film, but it will not be an entirely high one either. Heyman has said, "They haven’t been discussed. With “Paddington” we had a budget from the studio that was 50% higher than the budget we ended up making. Warriors will not be a low-budget film. You can’t do something that is digital animation that cheaply. It shouldn’t be a $200 million film. And it’s not a $10 million budget film either."

The movie may or may not be shot in China. It is possible that it can all be done CGI wise, but it is mentioned to depend on the budget.

Heyman referred to this film as an origin movie, not a franchise. When asked to elaborate, he responded with, "In my mind I’ve never worked on a franchise. I’ve never made a franchise film, because that’s looking outside-in. Rather, it is really about finding what you connect with in a story and making the best film you can. If we don’t make a good first film, there is no franchise. If we don’t make a good second film, there is no franchise. Somebody asked about if there will be video games. That would be great, but first let’s make a good film. A film has the opportunity to build awareness that leads to all the other things."

When he was asked about who he was looking for in a director, Heyman replied, "A humanist. And someone who knows how to work with animation. Or maybe we partner the director with a very strong animation director. I want someone who connects with the story and characters in the same way that I do. Someone who has a visual side but is also comfortable with the depth of the emotion and the breadth of tone that this has. Because it is funny, it is sad, it is thrilling, and there is a lot of high drama. One of the challenges is getting that emotion across with animals — with cats."

As of 2020, Heyman does not have the script for Warriors yet. It also remains to be seen if the creative team will be composed mostly by the Chinese. Although Alibaba Pictures is on board for this movie, there is no guarantee that it will be released in China. Heyman confirmed that because it is cooperating with Alibaba Pictures, there will definitely be Chinese actors.

The Warriors movie will be a live-action and CGI hybrid.

Heyman has stated that it is possible the movie could be turned to a long-running TV show because of the complexity and amount of narrative within it. Contradicting the TV series statement, Heyman has also said, "The interesting thing about the books is there are such a lot of narratives. And the books are still being written, so there will be as many films as long as we can keep telling interesting stories and the audience is receptive of it. We'll keep on making them."

At the David Heyman meeting, the editors of Chinese Warriors Wikipedia made a special trip from Sichuan and Shandong to Beijing. On this day, Beijing experienced its first snowfall of the winter, ushering in at 0 degrees. Some of them cried with joy because their favorite novel could be adapted into a movie, and some volunteered on the spot to apply for a free screenwriter.

David Heyman revealed that he believes the most challenging part adapting the novel into a movie, the most challenging thing is to design the characters of these warriors in the movie, because each reader has a different image and imagination in his heart. As for wondering if the production team will be in China, Heyman says it is too early to find out, hoping to find the best team and then discuss the budget after.

Heyman has also said that it is challenging for him to design the protagonist, and that he will not add Chinese cats, but hopes to incorporate Chinese elements.

While being interviewed, Zhang Wei stated:

"For us, this movie is not only attractive in the international market, but also very attractive in the domestic market. This work itself has proved that it is a global work, so we made this film not only for the Chinese market, including the international market. The work [Warrior Cats] is very, very rich. Everyone can extract different things and different needs in it. For myself, reading this book, I must choose a key word, "courage." For such a domestic cat, first of all, he is willing to leave the comfortable environment and walk into the forest, the wild environment, and such a complex environment. First of all, he must comply with his inner expectations and look for it. In fact, I think this feeling is many young people in this room have this in their hearts. Everyone has a hope for the future when you are young. There is a kind of eagerness to be uncomfortable with the status quo, to break, to break through, and to make their own people live a better life. I think such a wonderful wish is very important. This is the driving force behind our society's development and the society's ability to become more and more beautiful. In the process of growing up, everyone has such a hope for the future and a desire to work hard. In this process, courage is very, very important if you can really make your own life not in vernacular. In this book, when Rusty comes to this jungle world, he will experience many, many complicated things. In our daily life, we can come into contact with the growth, courage, ability improvement, the loyalty and betrayal of friends around, love, friendship, and many levels. Very complicated world. For us, everyone will experience it in your life. In this, I think "courage" is very, very important."

After, Heyman added, "The content in this novel is very rich. It is about growth and how the most important social and friendship are fundamentally built. I believe this is a movie suitable for all age groups and global audiences."

Cancelation

On January 25th, 2024, Coolabi announced a new deal with Tencent Video to create an official Warriors animation. The following day, Vicky announced on her Facebook that the movie was now canceled. While excited for the upcoming project, Vicky did specify that the pre-production got as far as a script and a production team.

See also

• Warriors animation

External links

• Warriors Movie on the Warriors official website (backup link)
• Warrior movie facebook
• Warriors movie twitter
• Interview with producer David Heyman
• Interview with President of Alibaba Pictures and David Heyman
• Interview with President of Alibaba Pictures and David Heyman
• Interview with David Heyman