Jake Gyllenhaal's Film Adaptation of Ubisoft's THE DIVISION Will Be Directed by Stephen Gaghan

Syriana and Gold director Stephen Gaghan has been hired to write and direct Ubisoft's big screen adaptation of their hit video game The Division. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain have already been set to star in the film. 

Gaghan, who started his career as a writer, has worked on projects such as Rules of Engagement, Traffic, The Alamo, Havoc, and the video game Call of Duty: Ghosts. He's worked on a lot of great stuff, so I think we can expect a solid Division movie from him. He made the following statement to Variety:

"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. 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."

For those of you not familiar with the story of the game, here's a plot synopsis that lays it out for you:

In 2001, an operation known as "Dark Winter" was launched which was a real-world exercise that tested the emergency response to a bioterror attack on the United States. The simulation spiraled out of control within a few days, and predicted that a "breakdown in essential institutions," civil disorder, and massive civilian casualties. This event came true when a virus was created that attached to bank notes (nicknamed the "Dollar Flu" due to its its infection vector), circulated on Black Friday causing within a day an international pandemic. Manhattan, where the gameplay is set, is where the virus originated and the effects of the viral pandemic were the worst.

Gyllenhaal will play an agent working with the Strategic Homeland Division tasked with helping to rebuild the Division’s operations in Manhattan, investigating the nature of the outbreak, and combating criminal activity in its wake.

There's a solid team of talent involved with this movie so hopefully it's good! They've certainly got a great story to work with!

GeekTyrant Homepage