James Waugh

James Waugh portrait

James Waugh has worked on some of the biggest games of all times: World of Warcraft, Diablo and now Star Wars. He currently serves as the Vice President, Development of the Lucasfilm Story Group working on the Star Wars franchise. His professional passions lie in franchise building through the tapestry of compelling and interlocking narrative content.

Prior to joining Lucasfilm, Waugh served as the Sr. Director of Story & Creative Development at Blizzard Entertainment, leading the company’s Creative Development Department while overseeing narrative and IP for its blockbuster franchises across media. While there he was a key contributor to Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, StarCraft, and Heroes of the Storm, along with serving as the game Story Director for StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void and StarCraft 2: Nova, Covert Ops. He was the Director of Story Development for the Overwatch franchise from its inception through release and oversaw all transmedia fiction that built to its record-breaking launch. In the games-to-film space, Waugh spearheaded Blizzard’s development on projects with ABStudios and Legendary Films. He played a critical role in the development of Warcraft: The Beginning, the feature film directed by Duncan Jones and received a Project Consultant credit on the film.

Before his eight years at Blizzard, Waugh worked in more traditional film roles as a Development Executive, Screenwriter, and Story Analyst. He received a Script Consultant credit for his work on the independent film Skills Like This which won SXSW’s “Best Narrative Feature Audience Award” and an Associate Producer credit on the independent film Looking for Sunday starring Orlando Jones.

At Lucasfilm, Waugh strives to build evocative content across media and pioneer new forms of storytelling.