Splinter Cell is an iconic video game franchise that fans have been hoping to see brought to life on the big screen. Unfortunately, it looks like that won't happen.
The story tells about the superspy Sam Fisher, who works for the fictional agency "Third Echelon". The first part of the game appeared in 2002 as an exclusive title for the Xbox, and since then seven different games have been created.
In 2012, Deadline officially reported that a film adaptation was in development, and later that year it was revealed that Tom Hardy was in talks to play Sam Fisher.
In 2014, Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman was announced to direct the film, which is being produced by Ubisoft and New Regency as a PG-13 action film.
Later, there were numerous updates on the shooting schedule, but all but one missed the mark. For years, there was no word on the status of the highly anticipated Splinter Cell movie.
While promoting the tenth anniversary of "John Wick," producer Basil Ivanyk, who signed on to produce the Splinter Cell film in 2013, confirmed that the previously announced theatrical adaptation is now "dead."
According to Ivanyk, the Tom Hardy movie will not happen because "they couldn't do it right:"
“This movie would have been great... We just couldn't handle the script and the budget. But it would be great. We had a million different versions, really sad.”
The news that the game adaptation of Splinter Cell has been canceled is sure to break the hearts of fans around the world.
In the meantime, fans can look forward to the Netflix animated series Splinter Cell: Deathwatch. The project, which stars Liev Schreiber, will appear sometime in 2025 and "offers a sharp new look at modern espionage in the era of hybrid warfare." | BGNES
