Video games are the new comic books. Count on it. I made that claim a few weeks ago after a flurry of activity saw Twisted Metal, Need for Speed, and Shadow of the Colossus film adaptations rushed into production. Although movies based on console games have been around for a long time, with only a few exceptions they've mostly been terrible. Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider flicks proved to be huge hits, and of course the Resident Evil series will probably never go away.
Now Ubisoft is getting into the works, with early plans underway to bring their wildly popular Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell games to the silver screen. Paramount Pictures appears to be the frontrunner to land the film, which would likely be the first in a potential franchise, with Warner Brothers having also engaged in discussions. The six bestselling games have all featured Lt. Commander Sam Fisher, a Black Ops agent working under the NSA, who engaged in various top secret missions where stealth is a priority. The Splinter Cell games have sold more than 20 million copies, and have been spunoff into a series of equally popular novels.
Paramount would seem to be the likely choice for the film to end up, as they've been working with Clancy for years on his Jack Ryan franchise. They're currently developing the latest Jack Ryan film, with Chris Pine starring and Kenneth Branagh directing. An interesting note is that Ubisoft will retain control and will be the driving force in how it's translated into a film, so at the very least we know it'll appeal to the hardcore fans. No sense in breaking what isn't broken. [Deadline]
