Over a decade after it was announced, it looks like Tom Hardy’s Splinter Cell movie is officially dead.
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The original Splinter Cell game was released in 2002 and followed super spy Sam Fisher as he set out to save the world. It’s still considered one of the best games ever made and inspired a number of sequels, spin-offs and official companion books.
In 2012, it was reported that Ubisoft were looking to make a film adaptation of Splinter Cell, with Tom Hardy set to star as Fisher. “Tom Hardy is one of the biggest talents in the film industry, and he has a phenomenal ability to take on complex and varied roles with his broad range of acting skills,” Jean-Julien Baronnet, chief executive officer at Ubisoft Motion Pictures told Deadline at the time. “His involvement in the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell movie is exciting news for movie and video game fans alike.”
It’s been a few years since any firm update on the project has been shared with fans and now, according to producer Basil Iwanyk, the film definitely isn’t happening.
“That movie would have been awesome,” said Iwanyk (via The Direct.) “We just couldn’t get it right, script-wise, budget-wise. But it was going to be great. We had a million different versions of it but it was going to be hardcore and awesome. That’s one of the ones that got away, which is really sad.”
The last mainline Splinter Cell game was released in 2013 and in 2021, Ubisoft confirmed a remake of the original Splinter Cell was in the works. “Splinter Cell remains a ground-breaking series. Its gameplay, technology innovations and storytelling has left an immense legacy. Our team is carefully combing through the original to capture what made it so special 20 years ago, but finding new moments to surprise players with today’s technologies,” the studio explained, with the game rumoured to launch in 2026.
However a Netflix take on Splinter Cell is “coming soon” to the streamer. The animated Deathwatch will star Liev Schreiber as Fisher and is described as “a sharp new take on modern espionage in the hybrid-war era.”
In other news, the director of Venom: The Last Dance has revealed that she made Tom Hardy wear a tuxedo in the film to try and convince James Bond creators that he should be the next 007.
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