Tom Clancy’s The Division has been out for less than a year, but new reports suggest Ubisoft are already planning to adapt it for the big screen.
Variety reports that Jake Gyllenhaal is currently attached to the project to both star in and produce the film.
Given that The Division managed to establish itself as the best selling new videogame IP ever based on its first week alone, Ubisoft’s plans for a motion picture version might not be too surprising. They certainly have brand awareness on their side.
It’s even less surprising when you consider that Ubisoft are already bringing one popular franchise to the big screen, with the Assassin’s Creed movie due out this December.
By all accounts, Ubisoft seem to be incredibly confident that the Assassin’s Creed flick (starring Michael Fassbender) will be a big hit, and spark off a revolution of Iron Man proportions for videogame movies.
Having someone like Gyllenhaal on board would certainly work in Ubisoft’s favour. After films like Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler, and Southpaw, it’s clear he’s a very talented chap, and one that could bring some weight to The Division.
The Division movie is by no means set in stone yet though. Variety points out that the studio is still looking for a writer, and the videogame publisher have yet to properly pitch the idea.
It could be that they want to enlist another big-name actor to the project before pitching it – or maybe they’re just waiting to see how well Assassin’s Creed does.
Personally, I just want Ubisoft to make a Rayman movie. That’d be off the fucking chain.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.