Michael Bay Developing ‘Ghost Recon’ Movie

Transformers director Michael Bay is developing a movie adaptation of Tom Clancy’s tactical shooter Ghost Recon.

CEO of Ubisoft Motion Pictures Jean Julien Baronnet said the company wanted Bay for the adaptation “because he is a master at action movies.” The 48-year-old is currently directing the fourth film in the Transformers franchise.

According to Variety, Ubisoft is meeting with screenwriters, with Bay overseeing the film’s development and possibly directing. The company is planning to hire screenwriters later this month and start casting in July. Ubisoft has also secured the rights to use Clancy’s name in the title.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon would be Bay’s first film for Warner Bros. He has previously produced and directed films for Disney, DreamWorks, Paramount, and Sony.

Ghost Recon revolves around a fictional unit of the US Army Special Forces who are often referred to as “The Ghosts.” The first Ghost Recon is set in April 2008 in Russia, where ultra-nationalists have seized power and plan to rebuild the Soviet Union. The Ghosts are sent in to stop the nationalists from supporting rebel forces in Georgia. The first Ghost Recon also has three expansions, each taking place in a new country with a different enemy.

So far, there have been 11 games in the franchise, as well as a novel.

Ghost Recon is the latest in Ubisoft’s commitment to make movies based on its properties. The studio has already brought in X-Men: Days of Future Past star Michael Fassbender to play Desmond Miles in its Assassin’s Creed film adaptation, and has cast The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy in the lead role for its Splinter Cell adaptation. The former is already slated for a Memorial Day 2015 release, but there is no word yet on a Splinter Cell release date.

What do you think of Michael Bay developing the film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon?