Live action Splinter Cell movie officially cancelled

A movie based on the classic Ubisoft stealth action franchise Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell has been officially cancelled. The film, which was set to feature Venom star Tom Hardy as protagonist Sam Fisher and be directed by Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman, has ceased development as, according to one of the film’s producers, they “couldn’t get it right” regarding the script and budget.

As first reported by The Direct, producer Basil Iwanyk confirmed that the Splinter Cell film is no longer in production. ‘That movie would have been awesome,” he stated. “Just couldn’t get it right, script-wise, budget-wise. But it was going to be great. We had a million different versions of it, but it was going to be hardcore and awesome. That’s one of the ones that got away, which is really sad.”

The sheer length of time that Hollywood has taken trying to adapt the adventures of black ops espionage agent Sam Fisher to the big screen is notable. The movie’s production, and Hardy’s casting, were first announced as far back as 2012. While the movie has been stuck in development hell, Ubisoft has been doing everything with the Splinter Cell license except make a new game, from sneaking in Sam Fisher as a DLC character in Ghost Recon Breakpoint to greenlighting an upcoming animated Netflix series, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch. The show, which will feature the voice of Liev Schreiber as Sam Fisher, actually IS coming out next year, fortunately.

Tom Hardy could certainly have been a good Sam Fisher, but if the project isn’t coming together after at least 12 years of brainstorming, maybe it’s right to shelve it. At least with the Splinter Cell: Deathwatch animated series coming out in 2025 and a remake of the original game in the works at Ubisoft Toronto, Splinter Cell fans have more to look forward to than they have in a long time.