Ubisoft’s The Division starring Jake Gylenhall and Jessica Chastain is heading to Netflix

David Leitch will direct the film from a screenplay by Rafe Judkins.

Tom Clancy’s The Division

Netflix has obtained the streaming rights for Ubisoft Motion Pictures’ film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s The Division, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain in the lead roles.

Terry Spier, creative director of Ubisoft studio Red Storm Entertainment, made the announcement at the end of Ubisoft’s press conference on June 10th — one day before the official start of the trade event E3 2019.

The Division will be directed by David Leitch, whose directing credits include Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Hobbs & Shaw. He took over the director’s chair from Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan, who was previously attached to helm the movie.

Meanwhile, Rafe Judkins, who serves as executive producer on the upcoming Amazon series Wheel of Time, is set to adapt the screenplay for The Division.

Produced by 87North Productions, Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories, Chastain’s Freckle Films, and Ubisoft Film and Television, The Division takes place in the near future, in which a pandemic virus is spread via paper money on Black Friday, decimating the city of New York and killing millions. By Christmas, what’s left of society has descended into chaos. A group of civilians, trained to operate in catastrophic times, are activated in an attempt to save who and what remains.

Ubisoft’s previous big screen projects like 2010’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and 2016’s Assassin’s Creed arguably failed to resonate with fans. So it’s fair to say that Ubisoft is hoping that its partnership with Netflix for The Division will encourage more viewers to sign on to Tom Clancy’s The Division, which became the fastest-selling new video game in history and currently has more than 20 million players. A sequel to the game, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, was released in March.

Ubisoft and Netflix have yet to announce a debut date for the film adaptation.

Source: Deadline, TechCrunch, CNET, Polygon