It might have fallen off the cultural radar in recent years, but Splinter Cell was once one of the most popular video game franchises in the industry, with the espionage thrillers receiving widespread acclaim from critics and gamers alike, selling over 30 million copies in the process.
And like almost every other successful video game series, a live-action movie adaptation was once in the works, although it ultimately failed in escaping from development hell. However, it was announced yesterday that Netflix are working on an animated Splinter Cell show, with John Wick writer Derek Kolstad set to act as executive producer on what’s reported to be sixteen episodes spread over two seasons.
While the movie might be dead in the water, we’ve nonetheless heard that Netflix are also planning to mount a live-action Splinter Cell series that won’t be connected to the animated project, and apparently, the streaming giant are keen to have Tom Hardy play main character Sam Fisher.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources that told us Netflix were developing a Witcher prequel weeks before Blood Origin was announced, and that an Extraction sequel is in the works, which we now know to be true – the company want to resurrect the abandoned Splinter Cell movie as a limited series with the option for further seasons, and having originally been cast in the lead role in November 2012, they want to gauge Hardy’s interest in finally getting the chance to play the Third Echelon operative.
The proposed movie adaptation suffered through numerous false starts before seemingly being left on the scrapheap, but despite a revolving door of writers and directors, Tom Hardy remained the one constant. Having spent almost a decade attached to Splinter Cell without seeing it become a reality, you’d imagine that the 42 year-old would be eager to finally play the role if he was offered the opportunity, and we can only hope that Netflix is able to get him to sign on.