Videogame adaptations may have a pretty dodgy history but Hollywood doesn’t want to give up on then and indeed recently they seem to be more in love with them then ever, such as getting Michael Fassbender attached to an Assassin’s Creed movie. Now Variety reports that Tom Hardy has agreed to star in a film based on Tom Clancy’s hit game series, Splinter Cell.
The movie has been a long time coming, as it first went into development back in 2004, when Peter Berg was attached to direct. Since then various studios and talent have flirted with it, but at the moment it doesn’t have a studio backing it – software company Ubisoft will be hoping adding Hardy changes all that. Eric Singer is writing the screenplay.
The story is about Sam Fisher, a highly-trained operative in a secretive unit known as Echelon. Here’s what Ubisoft Motion Pictures CEO Jean-Julien Baronnet had to say about the casting news, “Tom Hardy is currently one of the biggest talents in the film industry, and he has a phenomenal ability to take on complex and varied roles with his broad range of acting skills. His involvement in the Splinter Cell movie is exciting news for movie and video game fans alike. Meanwhile, Eric Singer is one of the most talented writers of the moment, and we’re confident he’ll bring a fresh approach and create a thrilling story, while still respecting all the codes and traditions of the franchise that are so important to fans.”
It isn’t known when they hope to shoot the movie.