Deadpool 2 Director Signs On To Helm Ubisoft’s The Division Film

It’s been a while since we’ve heard any kind of progress on Ubisoft’s film adaptation of The [...]

The Division

It's been a while since we've heard any kind of progress on Ubisoft's film adaptation of The Division (which was announced a couple of years ago), which is set to star Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) and Jessica Chastain (Molly's Game). But the movie just got a major boost, as a powerhouse director has hopped aboard to helm the project.

Per this report from Variety, director David Leitch has hopped on board to handle The Division movie. This comes fresh off his work on his latest project, Deadpool 2, which opens on May 18.

He's been keeping busy as of late. After working on the John Wick film (and serving as a producer for the second chapter), Leitch turned to Atomic Blonde and the Deadpool sequel, and has also recently signed on to direct the Fast and Furious spin-off featuring Jason Statham and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It appears that Universal film will go into production first, according to the report, with The Division lined up to start work sometime next year. Ubisoft hasn't finalized that schedule yet, so we'll see what happens.

Stephen Gaghan, who previously directed Gold, was attached to the project at first, but has since departed, making room for Leitch to step in. He'll produce the film alongside his producing partner, Kelly McCormick, under their 8711 banner. Ubisoft Motion Pictures will obviously play a part as well, alongside Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker of Nine Stories, as well as Chastain and Kelly Carmichael of Freckle Films.

There's no word as to how the story will be based, considering that we're getting a sequel to The Division pretty soon, but more than likely it'll cover what transpires in the first game, since that was such a big hit with fans. We'll let you know once the story is finalized.

There's a good chance that Ubisoft will discuss the film at its forthcoming E3 presentation, alongside The Division 2, so we'll see what the company divulges at that time. But having Leitch on board is a good move, considering he knows how to put together a great action film. Just ask anyone who's seen the John Wick films.

Tom Clancy's The Division is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. The sequel doesn't have a release date, but is expected later this year.

(Hat tip to Variety for the scoop!)

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