Production of Ibelin, a new film based on the life of Norwegian World of Warcraft player Mats Steen, is moving to Prague this summer.

Filming is expected to take place at Barrandov Studios from early August through early October, following the production’s spring shoot in Norway.

The film is not connected to the 2016 Hollywood movie Warcraft. Instead, it tells the real-life story of Steen, who lived with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and built friendships, relationships and a social life inside the online world of World of Warcraft.

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The Prague production is reportedly seeking extras for roles including blacksmiths, guards and innkeepers. The casting suggests that parts of the film set in the game’s fictional world could be filmed in the Czech Republic. The producers have not yet officially confirmed which scenes will be shot in Prague.

Charlie Plummer leads the cast

American actor Charlie Plummer will portray Mats Steen. Toni Collette and Stephen Graham will play his parents, while the supporting cast includes Bill Nighy, Isabela Merced, Maisy Stella, John Bradley and Ivanna Sakhno.

The film will be directed by Norwegian filmmaker Morten Tyldum, whose credits include The Imitation Game and the science-fiction film Passengers.

At the center of the story is the difference between Steen’s increasingly restricted physical existence and the freedom he experienced online. His character, known in World of Warcraft as Ibelin, became an important figure to people he met through the game.

One of Norway’s largest film projects

The Prague shoot is part of an international production with a reported budget of CZK 1 billion.

According to the Norwegian Film Institute, the project received 20 million Norwegian kroner in production support.

Ibelin is being produced by Vendôme Pictures, Pathé and Neby-Tyldum as an international co-production. The Norwegian Film Institute describes it as an English-language drama with a planned running time of around two hours.

The film is being developed for theatrical release, with its premiere currently expected in the third quarter of 2027.

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