Throughout their long and storied histories in the video game space, both Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell have gone on to become lucrative juggernauts – particularly the former, even when you factor in that Ubisoft has ordered the clandestine series on a one-year hiatus.
That’s something US producer New Regency is keen to replicate on the big screen. Currently, both properties are on course to be adapted into live-action features, even if they are at different ends of the production spectrum. Assassin’s Creed, for instance, is currently simmering in post, with Justin Kurzel’s time-hopping adventure flick on course to swoop into theaters in December of this year. As for Doug Liman’s rendition of Splinter Cell, it holds a tentative 2017 release date.
[zergpaid]Placing Mad Max: Fury Road star Tom Hardy in the role of Sam Fisher, details remain thin on the ground for Liman’s high-profile adaptation of the spy franchise. Even still, that hasn’t quelled Ubisoft’s nor New Regency’s enthusiasm to push ahead with talk of franchises.
Taiwanese co-financer Catchplay revealed to Variety that “they are both adaptations of successful Ubisoft games and would make ideal sequels,” according to CEO Daphne Yang. Last we checked in with the Splinter Cell film, Frank John Hughes had been tapped to pen a new draft of the script, indicating that it could be some time yet before the Tom Hardy-fronted thriller will creep onto the silver screen.
Also starring Marion Cotillard, Ariane Labed, Michael K. Williams, Jeremy Irons and Brendan Gleeson Assassin’s Creed takes flight on December 21. Splinter Cell, on the other hand, is still incubating in pre-production at the time of writing.