Ubisoft Developing Films for WATCH DOGS, FAR CRY, and RABBIDS
Ubisoft is on a role with announcing the games they want to turn into movies! They've just added Watch Dogs, Far Cry, and Rabbids to the list. They've already got got Ghost Recon with Michael Bay, Assassin's Creed with Michael Fassbender, and Splinter Cell with Tom Hardy. Yes, Uwe Boll already made a Far Cry movie, but let's just forget that ever happened.
The company will package the films up and start shopping them around to studios. Ubisoft will maintain creative control of the film project as they’re developed into movies. Under the direction of UMP CEO Jean-Julien Baronnet, they will hire the screenwriters, directors, and cast and choose the production shingles and studios it wants to work with. They will also finance the development of the scripts.
According to Baronnet, the reason they are doing it this way is so "no one can tell us you have to do the movie a certain way." I'm really hoping that Ubisoft knows what they're doing, and that they take these awesome games and turn them into great films!
Variety reports that Ubisoft is also currently in talks with Frank Marshall (Raiders of the Lost Ark) to serve as a producer on Assassin’s Creed, and Basil Iwanyk (Wrath of the Titans, The Town) to be a producer on Splinter Cell.
I'm not really familiar with Rabbids, but it looks like something the kids will enjoy. The game features an animated group of hyper rabbits known for causing mischief.
Watch Dogs hasn't been released yet, but from what I've seen here at E3, it looks incredible. It's a stealth game that lets players hack into people’s phones and other devices, as well as the city’s infrastructure to carry out missions and stop criminals.
Far Cry follows an ex Special Forces operative who searches for a missing journalist on a mysterious island when the sailboat they were traveling on is destroyed by mercenaries.
All of these games have the potential to be amazing films. I'm looking forward to seeing who they end up bringing in to develop them. One thing we do know is that they are going after A-list talent.