Undeterred by the critical drumming leveled at Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft Motion Pictures is beginning to make headway on its latest game-to-movie adaptation, The Division.
After securing Jessica Chastain and Nocturnal Animals star Jake Gyllenhaal – who previously worked with the studio on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time – Variety reports that Ubi has now finally found its director: Stephen Gaghan. Best known for his recent work on Gold, the Matthew McConaughey-fronted adventure film that’s beginning to emerge as an Oscar dark horse, Gaghan will write and direct The Division for Ubisoft, though there are few story details available at the moment.
First released in March of last year, The Division is a third-person shooter in which players take on the role of an agent fighting to keep some semblance of peace and order in a post-pandemic New York City. The Big Apple has been brought to its knees following a deadly outbreak, opening up a power vacuum for an array of ruthless gangs and thugs. With no government to call upon, the remnants of humanity form the Strategic Homeland Division, and that’s where your story begins.
Here’s what Stephen Gaghan had to say about coming on board:
“I’m excited to work with Ubisoft Motion Pictures and collaborate with their team at Massive Entertainment to bring ‘The Division’ to the big screen. They’re great guys, exceptionally creative, and willing to take risks,” Gaghan said. “The game has been an enormous success, in large part due to the visual landscape they created, their vision of a mid-apocalyptic Manhattan. It’s immersive, wonderfully strange, and yet familiar, filled with possibilities. It’s also remarkable to be able to collaborate with Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal early in the process. We all feel the story Ubisoft created is more relevant than ever.”
Little is currently known about Ubisoft’s movie adaptation of The Division, but fans can rest assured that the project is moving forward.
