A Splinter Cell live-action series is reportedly in development at Netflix with Tom Hardy taking on the lead role as Sam Fisher. The show will not have any connection with the recently-announced animated version in the same streaming platform.
We Got This Covered reported that Netflix is still keen on casting Hardy in the live-action version after the Splinter Cell movie deal fell through. Hardy was also the choice for the film adaptation, which was first announced in November 2012.
What happened to the Splinter Cell movie?
Ubisoft had studios like Warner Bros and Paramount interested in turning their popular video game series into a movie. But the development stalled after Ubisoft announced that Hardy was going to play the lead.
At that time, Hardy was in a lot of other major film projects, while several changes took place behind-the-scenes. Ubisoft negotiated with different writers and directors.
In 2017, producer Basil Iwanyk told Collider that the Splinter Cell movie was still a go.
“We’ve got a script. It’s a little long, but it’s the best script we’ve had,” Iwanyk said. “We’re going in there to figure out how to cut some pages and give it to [Tom] Hardy and hopefully try to get it done this year.”
Iwanyk also said that Hardy “really, really badly” wants to play Sam Fisher because he is a gamer, and he has a few friends who are in Special Ops. But the production of the Splinter Cell movie didn’t move forward despite Iwanyk confirming there’s a script.
Upcoming animated version and a new game
On July 30, Netflix confirmed its deal with Ubisoft to develop a Splinter Cell animated series with a two-season 16-episode order. Derek Kolstad, the creator of the John Wick movies, will serve as the executive producer. Kolstad and Netflix declined to share further details, so not much is known about the production schedule or who will star as voice actors.
Meanwhile, the voice actor for the game series revealed that 2021 could see another Splinter Cell launch. Luca Ward said that a “conclusive episode” is under production at Ubisoft. The new game was coming out this year, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the release.
In 2019, Ubisoft Creative Director Julian Gerighty said on his social media page that a new game is in development, but Ubisoft came out with a statement to say that Gerighty was joking. The last Splinter Cell video game release was in 2013 with Blacklist.
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