John WickcreatorDerek Kolstadis set to write aSplinter Cellanime series for Netflix and Ubisoft, Collider has confirmed.
Details are thin at the moment, but according toVariety, the series has received a two-season, 16-episode order. Kolstad will also serve as an executive producer on the project, which is based on the popular video game.
First released in 2002 to acclaim from critics and gamers alike,Splinter Cellfollows former U.S. Navy SEAL Sam Fisher, who is recruited by the NSA to work for agency’s mysterious Third Echelon division, where he must survive a number of black ops missions requiring deadly tactics.
Hollywood has been trying to adaptSplinter Cellfor years, withTom Hardygoing so far as to sign on to play Fisher back in 2012, though the movie never got off the ground, and the project is now considered inactive. Instead, Ubisoft decided that a TV series is the way to go, and specifically a Netflix anime series, which seems to have paid off for another video game adaptation –Castlevania. Clearly, they learned a lesson from theAssassin’s Creedmovie, which struck more of a blow to the video game’s brand than the box office.
Splinter Cellhas spawned six sequels and series of a tie-in novels thatRaymond Bensonwrites under the pseudonymDavid Michaels, even though it’s authorTom Clancy’s name attached to the title. Given Clancy’s association with Amazon, I’m surprised that streaming service didn’t make a play forSplinter Cell, though I suppose that animation simply isn’t its forte.
Kolstad is the writer behind theJohn Wicktrilogy starringKeanu Reeves, and he also worked on Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ seriesThe Falcon and the Winter Solider. Kolstad also seems to enjoy making action stars out of comedians, as not only did he co-create the Quibi seriesDie Hart, in whichKevin Hartattends action star school, but he also wrote Universal’s upcoming revenge movieNobodystarringBob Odenkirk.
Ubisoft also produces the Apple seriesMythic Quest, which is set within the wild walls of a video game development studio. The series was recently renewed for a second season, and its pandemic-themed bonus episode was wonderfully creative, so to find out how it came to be,click here.
