A new movie is on the way based on the life of Norwegian World of Warcraft gamer Mats Steenis, better known as Ibelin, with some major stars attached.
Vendôme Pictures and Pathé have partnered to produce the feature film titled *Ibelin*. The movie will tell the real story of Steen, a young man battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy, who spent most of his days playing video games and made a name for himself among the World of Warcraft fanbase as his alter ego, Ibelin Redmoore.
The film boasts impressive star power. The cast includes Charlie Plummer (*The Long Walk*), Stephen Graham (*Adolescence*), Toni Collette (*Hereditary*), Isabela Merced (*The Last of Us*), Maisy Stella (*My Old Ass*), and Sir Anthony Hopkins (*The Silence of the Lambs*). Directing the movie is Morten Tyldum, known for *The Imitation Game*. The screenplay is penned by Ilaria Bernardini and Hossein Amini, based on Mats Steen’s blog.
Alongside the cast announcement, the studios shared the film’s synopsis:
> “In the vast digital realm, Ibelin was admired by thousands for his humor, kindness, and courage. Behind the screen, Mats was just the same, except for one thing: he lived with a degenerative muscular disease that slowly took away his body, but never his spirit.
> At home, his loving, funny, slightly chaotic family feared he was withdrawing from the world. But Mats proved them wrong; he wasn’t escaping life. He was redefining it.
> Ibelin is a celebration of life, tender, funny, and profoundly moving; a heartfelt family story intertwined with an epic adventure that explores the power of friendship and the invisible threads that connect us all.”
This is not the first time Steen’s life story has been brought to the screen. In 2024, a Norwegian documentary titled *The Remarkable Life of Ibelin*, directed by Benjamin Ree, was released. The documentary features home movies from throughout Steen’s life, chats from his World of Warcraft guild, and excerpts from his blog, *Musings of Life*.
*The Remarkable Life of Ibelin* premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2024, where it won two awards, further highlighting the impact of Mats Steen’s inspiring story.
https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/drama-movies/the-emotional-story-of-world-of-warcraft-gamer-ibelin-is-being-turned-into-a-movie-with-adolescence-the-long-walk-and-the-last-of-us-stars-attached/
