One of gaming’s most iconic titles returns after 21 years. Diablo II: Resurrected has been remastered and released for nostalgic and new fans.
Creating two celebrity centric films, Blizzard partnered with creative agency 72andSunny Los Angeles to capture the depth of storytelling, darkness, and craft the Diablo franchise is known for. The film campaign entitled ‘The Second Coming’ stars award-winning actor Simu Liu (Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Winston Duke (Black Panther) who enter a gothic church to confess their sins. With every line, they detail one of the game's key player experiences, giving the audience insights into all that awaits them once Diablo is resurrected.
Blizzard enlisted director Daniel Sackheim (True Detective, Game of Thrones, Lovecraft Country) to create something tense and cinematic that leaned into Diablo’s gothic roots. Leaning on some of Hollywood’s most cinematic camera and lighting crews, Sackheim created two ominous films that signal the second coming of Diablo and capture the need for absolution for different types of Diablo players—one who has slayed hordes of demons when the game first came out, and the other who has yet to face Diablo for himself but is eager to get his hands bloody.
“Diablo II: Resurrected is a faithful modernization of a genre-defining PC classic we’re bringing to new players across multiple platforms,” said Todd Harvey, senior vice president, global marketing, Blizzard Entertainment. “Gaming has come far in 21 years, but what made Diablo a great game then is still appealing today—and those core elements are what we wanted to capture with the campaign.”
"You don’t get an opportunity like this every day. Diablo II was the game that launched the entire dark, gothic genre. It allowed us to go places you never really get to go to—emotional, raw, dark places where we admit to our desire to bathe ourselves in the blood of our enemies. It was good fun,” said Tim Wolfe, group creative director, 72andSunny Los Angeles.
“The Second Coming” will launch beginning September 21st on social, digital and online platforms.