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Splinter Cell film moving forward

New Regency producing big-screen version of Ubisoft's stealth action series with Tom Hardy as Sam Fisher.

New Regency will produce the film adaptation of Ubisoft's Splinter Cell franchise, according to a press release at Deadline. As was previously announced, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy will play the role of Sam Fisher, with Eric Warren Singer (The International) attached to write the script.

Details on the Splinter Cell film's plot remain a mystery, though Ubisoft Motion Pictures chief executive officer Jean-Julien Baronnet said in a statement that the partnership will allow the publisher to have "creative freedom." Additionally, he said New Regency shares Ubisoft's "commitment to respecting the creative freedom of our team," thus making the studio an "ideal fit" for the project.

This is not the first partnership between New Regency and Ubisoft Motion Pictures. The companies are also working together to bring Assassin's Creed to the silver screen, possibly as early as next year. Inglourious Basterds and Shame star Michael Fassbender will play the lead role in that film.

New Regency is a division of Regency Enterprises. Past projects produced by the company include Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Marly & Me. The company is producing Darren Aronofsky's upcoming biblical epic Noah, as well as Twelve Years a Slave.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the next entry in Ubisoft's long-running stealth action series. It is due out next year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. For more on that game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.

57 comments
neonasty
neonasty

I freaking love Tom Hardy, he's one of the best british actors in recent years but I got to call miscast on this

jmace1
jmace1

These New Regency and Ubisoft partnerships seems to be the hopeful game to film adaptations in recent memory. It's nice to see big name actors jumping on board. However, I really don't see either one of these titles as being a great foundation for a script.

BIOJECT
BIOJECT

 @jmace1 The plots in Splinter Cell games are so unmemorable. Why would I want to watch one?

edpeterson
edpeterson

Wait they're actually still planning on making this movie? I thought it was done since it's been quite some time since the trailer from the end of Chaos Theory lol

cephas90
cephas90

Anyone else remember the Chaos Theory trailer?  Haha

fattass21
fattass21

all movie makers should take a hint from capcom and their resident evil animation movies, thats just me, but they turned out pretty good. just saying. 

Scarshi
Scarshi like.author.displayName 1 Like

All games made into movies should be only CGI.

kierwinyoung
kierwinyoung

am I the only one who's getting the feeling that almost every great game I know is getting a Movie experience?

ZeRo2545
ZeRo2545 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 4 Like

When I shoot out that light bulb over there, you have my permission to die.

OHGFawx
OHGFawx like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

 @ZeRo2545 but tell me the code for that door first.

Hurvl
Hurvl

 @OHGFawx  @ZeRo2545 "Why did you brutally murder him instead of just knocking him out", "His punishment must be more severe".

OHGFawx
OHGFawx like.author.displayName 1 Like

 @mehrdad19872010  @Hurvl  @ZeRo2545 I killed him because because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like progression to the next stage. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch you replay missions.

tgwolf
tgwolf

Well I know there will be a lot of idiot--I mean, 'loyal'--fans disappointed if the flick isn't rated R so as to preserve the disgusting spirit of the games...

adamomars
adamomars

at that,  if there were ever one game id suggest making a movie out of, it's be Zelda. and i'd be the director.

adamomars
adamomars

ya whats with all the game movies.... assasins creed really? that movie is going to suck ill bet you right now, because it will be full of special effects by an actor who has no ability to perform arobatics, or fight.

 

i remember when the first splinter cell came out, (how many years ago) i pretended i was a splinter cell with my friends in the dark at sleep overs. those pretend episodes between 5 little boys is better than this big-screen 'out of the can' crap these guys are trying to pull.

Cryptic_Shadow
Cryptic_Shadow

I haven't seen enough well-executed 'game-to-film' adaptations to get overly excited about this film.  I am excited for Splinter Cell: Blacklist however...

X_Colbert_X
X_Colbert_X like.author.displayName 1 Like

Hopefully having Tom Hardy in the lead will save this film from being the bane of the Splinter Cell franchise.

d_train73
d_train73 like.author.displayName 1 Like

 @X_Colbert_X  I'm hoping it's the inception of an era of quality video game movies. They need a good villain too, Sam needs a memorable nemesis. Hardy is a good fit; handsome, but a real warrior too, he can bob & weave like Fisher needs to. They need to fill out the rest of the cast too, how about Lucy Lawless as Grim? As for the soundtrack I'd like them to be adventurous, maybe an Action Bronson track but I wouldn't be surprised if its mostly a rock n' roller. The movie will work if they don't tinker with the Splinter Cell formula too much, it needs be tailored to appeal to wide audience without devolving into mindless action fluff. Some flashbacks of Sam's time as a soldier before he started spying for 3rd echelon would be good too. I don't know if they'll go with the daughter angle but Sam should be a layered character. 

adagio_spider
adagio_spider

 @d_train73  @X_Colbert_X Lucy Lawless is too damn old to be Grim. And if you want adventurous soundtrack, you're obviously the demographic target of Conviction, which ruined what Splinter Cell was about (just to be clear, I'm not saying it's a bad game at all, I'm saying something totally different). And as much as I like Tom Hardy, he doesn't fit that much as Sam Fisher. Also, if they do it, they should base it on the books, which have great action, sometimes even Bourne-like, and they'd use Carly first, instead of Grim. The first book, as well as the second, Operation Barracuda, are great and shape up Sam's character very well.

d_train73
d_train73

Oh...wow...I wasn't really making any serious suggestions there...

SolidTy
SolidTy

We'll see if this even happens. Hardly game movies get completed, and then when they do, they usually are terrible. Hopefully this will be one of the exceptions.

sladakrobot
sladakrobot

This movie is already doomed in my eyes!

Another superhero killing all terrorists to save the world-movie?!

That is enough for a game if done right but cmon...let James Bond do that job in movie theatres!

megadeth1117
megadeth1117 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

"Ahhh, you think darkness is your ally."

Johny_47
Johny_47

Tom Hardy looks good for the role but I think it would be so much better if they had Michael ironside do the voice overs, it would be so cool if they could do that, wouldn't be easy at all but who cares as long as it's good.

meconate
meconate

I hope this is gonna be good. I think Tom Hardy is brilliant, and I want to see what he can bring to Sam Fisher's character...

Madgnad
Madgnad like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

I always thought George Clooney would be a good Sam Fisher, he looks like him anyway. IMO.

NTM23
NTM23 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

I want to see an interview with Tom Hardy in it, and it shows he's actually enthusiastic about this, not just some interviewer asking him "Hey, I heard you're going to play Sam Fisher!" And his reply is "Yeah, someone contacted me about that..."

 

I also hope if or when this film comes out, its quality is nearer to his work on the Nolan films rather than 'This Means War'. When it comes to movies, but especially film off games, you want the actor to be happy about doing the work, not just in it for money to later say they made a mistake by accepting the role.

 

We're ready for great movies off games. Tom Hardy's a good actor, and while I wouldn't have thought of him as a person to play Sam Fisher, he's still a good choice.

TohouAsura
TohouAsura like.author.displayName 1 Like

OH great, another shit movi--

 

*Tom Hardy*

 

. . . Well fuck. I don't even know what to say. On one side, he's an amazing actor. On the other hand, he sounds nothing like Sam Fisher, the complete opposite of Michael.

 

Then again people said the same thing about him playing Bane. I'm really not sure what to think on this one. 

Cryptic_Shadow
Cryptic_Shadow

 @TohouAsura Well, it may simply all come down to the directors execution of his 'vision'.  If he fails, everyone fails.. even if Hardy kills it.

DevilMightCry
DevilMightCry

I really, really, can't see Tom Hardy being Sam Fisher. Not even a young one.

Biggs613
Biggs613

I really don't get the Tom Hardy craze lately. He's really not that great of an actor.

The-Neon-Seal
The-Neon-Seal like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

(Random Agent) "What happens if I take of that mask? Will it kill you?"

 

(Tom Hardy) "It would be very painful... for you..."

TohouAsura
TohouAsura like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

 @The-Neon-Seal That's not how it went. THIS is how it went:

 

"What happens if I take off that mask? Will it kill you?"

 

"It would be extremely painful

 

"You're a big guy"

 

"For you."

 

Loved that line.

 

NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR FEAR, DOCTOR. THAT COMES LATER.

MasterTheHero
MasterTheHero like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 9 Like

Tom Hardy is a very talented actor, I think he'll be able to pull off Sam quite well if the script is good.

Borrizee
Borrizee

I'm not waiting but please surprise us gamers.

d_train73
d_train73

Why is Tom Hardy playing Sam Fisher? Last time I checked Sam Fisher was an older American not a young British guy. Can't "Splinter Cell" just refer to their brand of stealth espionage action and create a new lead character? 

 

It's not like Sam Fisher is some household-name video game icon like Mario, Master Chief or Solid Snake even. I don't think Fassbender is playing Altair, Ezio or Connor in AC so why do it here? Hell the best option would be to bring in Michael Ironside as an older, retired Fisher and have him be in charge of Hardy's new agent.

Ultra_Taco
Ultra_Taco like.author.displayName 1 Like

 @d_train73 Actually, it is like Sam Fisher is some household-name video game icon like Mario, Master Chief, and Solid Snake. Sam has been the main character of every Splinter Cell game, and it doesn't look like it is going to change.

TohouAsura
TohouAsura

 @Ultra_Taco  @d_train73 Not really. And that besides, you don't really need Sam for Splinter Cell as the infiltrator, so long as he's there.

 

Abit more of a problem with MGS. Just look at the ravings that still go on to this day about the switch from Snake to Raiden in MGS2.

 

The Snakes are the lead main characters of MGS, you can't have an MGS without Snake.

fightingfish18
fightingfish18

 @Ultra_Taco  @d_train73

 Global market penetration of Splinter Cell != Global market penetration of Mario, Halo, and MGS.  So d_train does raise a point.

d_train73
d_train73

@fightingfish18@Ultra_Taco

My point exactly, I love Splinter Cell but no non-gamer has EVER heard of Sam Fisher. Even among gamers, how many people who never played a Splinter Cell could tell you who Sam is? If you ask someone who's not a fan of the genre to name the star of a stealth franchise, 80% of the time they probably say Snake.

 

I think Sam is a good character and Ironside turned in an iconic performance but it's time to move on. I don't like that they've recast him in Blacklist and they don't need to use him here. To me most of the appeal of the character was his status as a cynical aging badass and Ironside's performance. They should have given Sam a less ambiguous send off in Conviction and moved on to a new protagonist. Blacklist/Hardy Sam Fisher will be Sam in name only, and I don't think the "Sam Fisher" brand is important enough to gut the character but keep the name.

 

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