Film studio New Regency and Ubisoft announced today that they have partnered in producing the of a possible Splinted Cell movie, based on the popular Tom Clancy video game series.
Ubisoft had earlier confirmed that its film and TV division, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, was working with screenwriter Eric Warren Singer (The International) and actor Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) to bring Sam Fisher to the silver screen. The partnership comes shortly after both parties had announced collaboration on an Assassin’s Creed film.
Though Assassin’s Creed carries more weight today, the Splinter Cell franchise has thrived in the gaming community, selling 23 million copies across titles throughout the past 10 years. Ubisoft Toronto is continuing Sam Fisher’s story with Splinter Cell Blacklist, which is scheduled for a Spring 2013 release on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
“For Ubisoft Motion Pictures, creative control is key and New Regency shares our commitment to respecting the creative freedom of our team,” said Ubisoft Motion Pictures CEO Jean-Julien Baronnet. “Their ability to produce both blockbusters and intriguing indie hits is an ideal fit for the Splinter Cell franchise.”
Singer is working on just his second major motion picture screenplay, though he is familiar in the themes of espionage and terrorism. His last film, 2009’s The International, grossed over 60 million dollars worldwide and is rated at 59% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Hardy is coming off a series of critically-acclaimed films including Inception, Warrior, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The Dark Knight Rises. He will star in next year’s reboot of the Mad Max franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road.
Ubisoft Motion Pictures was founded in 2011 to expand popular Ubisoft game franchises into film, TV, and webisodes. Apart from Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell, the studio is currently working on a CGI-based TV series for the Rabbids franchise.
