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Studios Now Battling to Adapt Tom Clancy's 'Splinter Cell' Video Game

by Ben Pearson
June 15, 2012
Source: Deadline

For those not familiar with Tom Clancy's best-selling Splinter Cell series of video games, they follow the protagonist, an aging government secret operative named Sam Fisher (voiced by gruff Top Gun star Michael Ironside), as he utilizes various stealth tactics to complete covert missions without being noticed. He sticks mostly to the shadows, often using various distractions to either elude enemies or lure them so he can silently subdue them. And now Deadline reports that Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures are looking to turn the property into a movie, with Paramount looking likely to win the big bidding battle. More below!

Aided by trifocal goggles which use both night vision and thermal readings, Fisher is able to see in the dark, so it will be interesting to see what approach the eventual director of this project takes when dealing with this kind of stealthy subject matter. Will there be a lot of first person POV night vision shots? This brings up the question that is as old as video games themselves: how close do you stick to the game when adapting it to the big screen?

Certain elements may work well in playable form, but may not translate well to an audience that doesn't control the protagonist's every move. There's also the fact that the game creator, Ubisoft, will retain a lot of creative control over the filmmaking process, something that crippled a Halo film when Microsoft exerted too much influence over that film's development. Hopefully everyone can co-exist and bring a solid story to the screen, and maybe they could even score someone like George Clooney to play Sam Fisher. Fans of the game, sound off in the comments - who would you like to see play this part?

Filed under Development, Movie News

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