Deadpool 2directorDavid Leitchhas lined up another high-profile project. Ubisoft has tapped the stunt-coordinator-turned-director to helm their upcoming adaptation of the hit video gameThe Division. The project has been in development since 2016 with the gaming company, but it looks like things are heating up and getting serious, as they now have an accomplished director and two big-name stars attached to bring the Tom Clancy-branded video game to life on the big screen.
Previously,Golddirector Stephen Gaghan was attached to helmThe Division, but he’s since departed.Jake Gyllenhaal, who recently confirmed he won’t be taking over as Batman in the DCEU, andJessica Chastain, who is signed on to play the older version of Beverly inIT 2, are both attached to star in the video game adaptation. Gyllenhaal will also be producing the movie, alongside Gerard Guillemot, who is producing for Ubisoft Motion Pictures. While Ubisoft will likely partner with a major studio forThe Division, Ubisoft has a movie division in order to produce the movie in-house.
David Leitch has been on the rise as a director in Hollywood ever since he co-directed the firstJohn Wickwith Chad Stahelski. He then moved on toAtomic Blonde, which has a sequel in development. Following Tim Miller’s departure, he landed the gig directingDeadpool 2, which had such positive early buzz that he was pursued by Universal to helm the upcomingFast and Furiousspin-offHobbs, with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Leitch will shoot that movie first, as it’s already scheduled for a 2019 release date and will begin filming this fall. It’s then expected that he will move ontoThe Division, assuming all goes according to plan.
Ubisoft’sThe Division, as avideo game, was an absolutely massive hit. The game was launched in March of 2016, generating the biggest launch for a new video game franchise ever and has amassed 20 million players worldwide. A sequel game,The Division 2, is currently in development, with details expected to be announced at the upcoming E3 expo. The story ofThe Divisiontakes place in the near-future and sees virus is spread on Black Friday. The virus decimates New York City, killing millions. By Christmas, what’s left of society has descended into chaos. A group of civilians who are trained to operate in such catastrophes is called upon in an attempt to save those left in the city, while also trying to track down the source of this deadly and destructive virus.
Currently, there’s no release date forThe Divisionmovie and no word on who has been tapped to write the screenplay. With a director firmly in place, we should be hearing word on who will be penning the adaptation in the near future.The Divisiondoesn’t currently have a release date set, but if David Leitch gets to work on it next year, a 2020 release doesn’t seem to be out of the realm of possibility. This news comes to us courtesy ofVariety.
