Ubisoft’s ‘The Division’ Becomes A Movie Starring Jake Gyllenhaal And Jessica Chastain
Ubisoft continues to get serious about turning its games into movies. The French game publisher announced a new film on Tuesday based on The Division for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The massively multiplayer shooter is jumping to the big screen with Academy Award nominees Jessica Chastain (The Martian, Interstellar, The Help, Zero Dark Thirty) and Jake Gyllenhaal (End of Watch, Nightcrawler, Southpaw) in lead roles.
The Division movie currently has no production or release dates listed. This makes late 2017/early 2018 the earliest it could hit theaters. Ubisoft’s film and television production department is more than happy to tout the movie based on its top-selling title.
“We are excited to collaborate with Jessica and Jake, two of Hollywood’s most talented actors and perfect creative collaborators to help bring Tom Clancy’s The Division to the big screen,” said Gerard Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer, Ubisoft Motion Pictures in a press release.
“Attaching Jake and Jessica is part of our development philosophy of working closely with top talent from the earliest stages to collaborate on a high quality film,” added Matt Phelps, Vice President, Ubisoft Motion Pictures.
For those unfamiliar, The Division takes place in New York City after a pandemic is created via a virus called the “Green Poison” or “The Dollar Flu” is spread on Black Friday using cash as a carrier. The virus spreads rapidly, and the city descends into chaos as much of it goes under quarantine.
The United States government activates sleeper agents from the Strategic Homeland Division to assist emergency responders restore order and maintain peace while scientists work on a cure. The first wave of Division agents was either killed off or went rogue by joining one of the large factions that contribute to the chaos. These factions include escaped inmates from Rikers Island, sanitation workers with a love for flamethrowers (named the Cleaners), and a private military company hired by Wall Street millionaires known as the Last Man Battalion.
Players step in as the second wave of Division agents sent into New York City with a full plate on their hands. They need to restore order by clearing out blocks of New York City of enemy factions, hunt down rogue agents, and discover the origins of the Green Poison to help scientists find a cure.
Ubisoft Motion Pictures is currently building up quite the slate of upcoming films. Assassin’s Creed starring Michael Fassbender will be the first major motion picture from the company and is due to be released on December 21, 2016. Other projects include a Splinter Cell film with Tom Hardy attached, Ghost Recon, Watch Dogs, and an animated film based on the Rabbids.
Far Cry was also part of the initial announcement of films in 2013 but has not been attached with any distributor or film partnerships since. How much of this is due to the laughably awful 2008 Uwe Bolle film is unknown.
As for the Division game itself, PlayStation 4 players finally received the Underground update today. Xbox One and PC players received the DLC at the end of June. New content in the expansion includes an all-new set of missions set beneath the streets of New York City. Ubisoft Massive also added some welcome variability to Operations with randomly generated levels with different environmental hazards, traps, enemies, and objectives with each play through.
There are two DLC packs remaining for The Division. “Survival” is a different spin on gameplay, challenging players to survive as long as possible by scavenging. Finally, “Last Stand” will be out during the winter. There is little detail beyond that, but promotional art suggests it will be set on Liberty Island.
What do you think of a movie based on The Division? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via Ubisoft]
