There is news again about the planned movie adaptation of the online shooter The Division. David Leitch, who recently directed Deadpool 2, is now in charge of the film. But this could mean that the movie will come out later than planned.
Initially, Stephen Gaghan (Syriana) was intended for the director’s position. However, he dropped out of the project. With David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2), a replacement has been found immediately.
Ubisoft announced the recasting via blog.
The movie is still far away – preparations hopefully start in 2019
More information has been provided by the trade magazine Variety from “sources.” Variety knows that the recasting also comes with a disadvantage.
Because David Leitch has to take care of other projects first – including a spin-off to The Fast and the Furious – to which he is contractually obligated. It is said that they hope Leitch finds the time to start preparations for “The Division” sometime in 2019.
However, it was not previously known when the “The Division” film would be released. At the beginning of 2017, Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot stated: The film is on a good path, but there are still some hurdles to overcome, and one should not expect the film too soon.
It seems unlikely that the film will be released concurrently with the release of “The Division 2”, as the release is expected in the first quarter of 2019 – although there are still no official sources for this. Ubisoft is likely to announce the release of The Division 2, the game, at E3 2018.
The Division as a film
The film of The Division aims to retell the story of Ubisoft’s online shooter:
- A virus has made large parts of New York uninhabitable; the city is under quarantine
- The city is locked down to contain the disease
- The virus spread through banknotes that were circulated on Black Friday
- Shortly before Christmas, special units are activated, trained specifically for such situations
- Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal take on the lead roles
The film is expected to stick closely to the source material
The producers of the film, including Jake Gyllenhaal, David Leitch, and Kelly McCormick, are strictly ensuring that the adaptation comes as close as possible to the game The Division. Nevertheless, the film should also appeal to an audience that is unfamiliar with the game. However, we will only learn if that works in a few years, as the filming has been delayed due to the change of director.
While the production of the Division film is slowly getting underway, Ubisoft is already working on The Division 2.
