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Following record-breaking sales, Ubisoft is already developing a movie based on its video game “Tom Clancy’s the Division,” and now looks to have an A-list star to lead the film.

Sources tell Variety that Jake Gyllenhaal is attached to star in the pic based on the hit video game that has already become Ubisoft’s fastest-selling product.

Gyllenhaal is also attached as a producer, and the studio is currently looking for a writer to pen the adaptation. Ubisoft could not be reached for comment.

Developed and published by Ubisoft, with assistance from Red Storm Entertainment, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the third-person shooter is set in a dystopian New York City in the aftermath of a smallpox pandemic. The player, who is an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division, commonly referred to as simply “The Division,” is tasked with helping to rebuild the Division’s operations in Manhattan, investigating the nature of the outbreak and combating criminal activity in its wake.

Early reports had the game reaching $330 million dollars in sales in just five days, and that number has surely grown in recent weeks. Ubisoft will package the project, possibly adding one more actor to the mix before taking it out to studios. It currently has “Assassin’s Creed” starring Michael Fassbender in post-production at Fox and New Regency as well as “Splinter Cell” starring Tom Hardy at Paramount.

For Gyllenhaal, the move gives the actor the opportunity to step into a major tentpole following several prestige projects such as “Nightcrawler,” “Southpaw” and the upcoming “Nocturnal Animals.” In producing the movie, Gyllenhaal will also have the ability to be hands-on in the big-budget film.

Gyllenhaal can next be seen starring opposite Amy Adams in Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Animals,” scheduled to open Nov. 18, 2016.

He will commence production on Bong Joon Ho’s “Okja” and Daniel Espinosa’s “Life” later this year. Through his Nine Stories shingle, Gyllenhaal produced David Gordon Green’s upcoming “Stronger,” in which he also stars.

Gyllenhaal is repped by WME and Carlos Goodman of Bloom Hergott.

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Jessica Chastain is in talks to co-star with Jake Gyllenhaal in Ubisoft Pictures’ adaptation of its hit video game “The Division.”

Gyllenhaal is producing the project with Ubisoft’s Gerard Guillemot.

Developed and published by Ubisoft, with assistance from Red Storm Entertainment, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the third-person shooter is set in a dystopian New York City in the aftermath of a smallpox pandemic. The player, who is an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division, commonly referred to as simply “The Division,” is tasked with helping to rebuild the Division’s operations in Manhattan, investigating the nature of the outbreak and combating criminal activity in its wake.

Early reports had the game reaching $330 million dollars in sales in just five days, and that number has surely grown in recent weeks. Ubisoft will package the project, possibly adding one more actor to the mix before shopping it to studios. It currently has “Assassin’s Creed,” starring Michael Fassbender, in post-production at Fox and New Regency, as well as “Splinter Cell,” starring Tom Hardy, at Paramount.

Chastain will star next in EuropaCorp’s “Miss Sloane,” a gun rights drama that has an awards-season release date of Dec. 9, and will also star opposite Daniel Bruhl in the World War II film “The Zookeeper’s Wife.”

Chastain, repped by CAA and Mosaic, is also set to shoot Aaron Sorkin’s “Molly’s Game” with Idris Elba.

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“Gold” director Stephen Gaghan is attaching himself to write and direct Ubisoft’s adaptation of its popular video game “The Division” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain.

Ubisoft Motion Pictures will develop with Gyllenhaal’s and Riva Marker’s (“Beasts of No Nation”) Nine Stories and Chastain’s Freckle Films.

Developed and published by Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment with assistance from Red Storm Entertainment, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, the third-person shooter is set in a dystopian New York City in the aftermath of a smallpox pandemic. The player, who is an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division, commonly referred to as simply “The Division,” is tasked with helping to rebuild the Division’s operations in Manhattan, investigating the nature of the outbreak and combating criminal activity in its wake.

Ubisoft will package the project shopping it to studios. It currently has “Splinter Cell,” starring Tom Hardy, at New Regency and Fox.

“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,” Gaghan said. “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.”

Though he isn’t known for action-heavy tentpoles, the game does touch on global issues that would allow Gaghan to jump from that commentary to the intense setpieces that the game is known for.

Gaghan is repped by CAA.

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APRIL 19, 2018 11:29AM PT
‘Deadpool 2’s’ David Leitch to Direct Jessica Chastain, Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘The Division’ (EXCLUSIVE)
By Justin Kroll @krolljvar

“Deadpool 2” director David Leitch has set his sights on his next project, signing on to helm Ubisoft’s “The Division” movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain.

The news comes just months after it was announced that he’s also on board to direct the “Fast and Furious” spinoff starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Sources stress that the Universal spinoff will shoot first, as that film is already set to go into production this fall, and the hope is that Leitch would move on to prep “The Division” some time in 2019.

“Gold” director Stephen Gaghan was previously attached to helm the video game adaptation, but has since left the project.

Leitch’s producing partner, Kelly McCormick, will produce along with Leitch through their 8711 banner, as well as Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker of Nine Stories and Chastain and Kelly Carmichael of Freckle Films alongside Ubisoft Motion Pictures.

Based on the best-selling video game, the story is set in a near future where a pandemic virus is spread via paper money on Black Friday, decimating New York City and killing millions. By Christmas, what’s left of society has descended into chaos. A group of civilians, trained to operate in catastrophic times, is activated in an attempt to save who and what remains.

Developed and published by Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment with assistance from Red Storm Entertainment, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, the third-person shooter quickly became the fastest-selling new IP in video game history after its initial launch. Ubisoft recently announced that the game reached the milestone of 20 million players and a sequel is in development with more details to be unveiled at E3 next month.

Gyllenhaal and Chastain have been with the film project since its conception and have been persistent in making sure that it matches the tone of the video game, while also reaching audiences who appreciate the actors’ own past work.

As for Leitch, the stunt coordinator-turned-director has been a rising star on the action scene after he and his stunt partner, Chad Stahelski, broke out with the cult hit “John Wick.” Stahelski took the reins for “John Wick 2” as Leitch moved on to the Charlize Theron action movie “Atomic Blonde,” the film that helped land him the job of “Deadpool 2” after that sequel lost its director.

The early buzz around “Deadpool 2” proved so impressive that Johnson aggressively pursued Leitch for his “Fast and Furious” spinoff before the in-demand director could land his next film.

Leitch is repped by WME and attorney Tara Kole.

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Netflix has snatched up The Division, Ubisoft Motion Pictures’ film adaption based on the popular Tom Clancy online-only, role-playing video game, which was released in 2016 and currently has more than 20 million players. The follow-up game, The Division 2, was just released in March.

The announcement of Netflix’s acquisition was made during Ubisoft’s panel at E3, the video game industry trade event that officially kicks off tomorrow. Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal have been attached to star and produce this project for a while with Hobbs And Shaw and Deadpool 2 helmer David Leitch coming on board last year to direct.

Rafe Judkins will adapt the screenplay. He’s also currently creating the upcoming Amazon series Wheel of Time, based on the acclaimed fantasy novels.

The Division plot takes place in the near future where 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.

87North Productions, Nine Stories, Freckle Films, and Ubisoft Film and Television are also producing.

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Red Notice director Rawson Marshall Thurber is set to direct Netflix’s feature adaptation of The Division, which is based on the popular video game, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain on board to star. Thurber comes on for David Leitch, who had to step down as director due to scheduling conflicts that included his action pic Bullet Train, which he is currently filming. Leitch will remain on as a producer.

Netflix acquired film rights to the game after the package was put on the market back in the summer 2019 following a heated bidding war for the property.

The story is set in the near future with a virus 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.

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