Last year, the Netflix documentary “The Incredible Life of Ibelin” told the touching story of a player from World of Warcraft. Soon, a film adaptation with a renowned cast is set to hit the big screen.
What is known about the film? As reported by variety.com, Morten Tyldum directs the film adaptation of Ibelin’s story. Like the Netflix documentary “The Incredible Life of Ibelin” from last year, the film is also based on the life of Mats Steen, a Norwegian boy who suffered from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (more about the disease on Wikipedia).
Director Morten Tyldum is also Norwegian. His biggest success so far is the Oscar nomination for Best Director with his film “The Imitation Game.” Additionally, films like Passengers and series like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Silo are part of his filmography. Filming is expected to take place in Europe in 2026. So far, confirmed cast members include:
- Charlie Plummer (Boardwalk Empire, Moonfall, The Long Walk)
- Stephen Graham (Gangs of New York, Band of Brothers, Snatch, Boardwalk Empire, The Irishman)
- Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Mickey 17, Knives Out, Hereditary)
- Isabela Merced (Sicario 2, Alien: Romulus, Superman)
- Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Amistad, Nixon, The Father, Westworld)
The trailer for the Netflix documentary “The Incredible Life of Ibelin”:
A touching story
What is the film based on? On bbc.com an article titled “My disabled son’s amazing gaming life in World of Warcraft” appeared on February 7, 2019. It was here that the touching story of Mats Steen was first told.
Mats was confined to a wheelchair due to his illness, and doctors believed it was unlikely that the boy would live to see his 20th birthday. His parents, in turn, feared that their son would never find friends or leave a mark on the world because of his illness.
At the age of eleven, Mats discovered World of Warcraft. Although his parents accepted the new hobby, they never truly understood it. With great concern, they observed that their son was increasingly spending nights at the computer.
What they did not realize: Mats found in Azeroth something that had been denied to him in real life: a community and friends where he could forget about his illness for a while. In WoW, he was simply Lord Ibelin Redmoore, a respected member of a WoW guild. Someone who could listen well and with whom one could have fun.
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How does the story end? When Mats died on November 18, 2014, his father had the idea to leave a message for Mats’ fellow players through the blog his son had been maintaining for some time. There, the father explained what had happened and how to reach him. He feared that no one would respond…
But the opposite was true. Many guildmates sought contact and expressed their condolences and grief in messages. They shared personal memories and emphasized how important the terminally ill boy had become to the community over time. Many of Mats’ friends even boarded a plane to attend the funeral.
All this made the parents realize how important World of Warcraft had become for Mats and what kind of life he had led despite his illness, one filled with friends and many wonderful moments. He had managed to leave his mark on the world. Mats was 25 years old.
How important MMORPGs can be for many people is shown not only by Mats’ story. In June 2024, we reported about Jasmynrose29, who shared her severe illness in a post and how The Elder Scrolls Online has helped her: Seriously ill woman shares with the community what ESO means to her, the reactions are heartwarming
