Netflix has unveiled an intense new official look at its upcoming animated series, Splinter Cell: Deadwatch, showcasing a battle-hardened and bloodied Sam Fisher. The image shows the super-spy aiming his sidearm with a look of grim determination, rendered in a mature animation style that signals a dark and serious tone for the project. This is a significant update for the long-awaited adaptation of the Ubisoft video game franchise, which unveiled its first teaser trailer almost a year ago. The new visual confirms that the series, being animated by Sun Creature and Fost, is actively moving forward toward its expected 2025 premiere, reigniting excitement for what promises to be a faithful take on the beloved stealth-action hero.
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The Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell franchise first launched in 2002 and became a cornerstone of the stealth genre. The games center on Sam Fisher, an elite covert operative for the NSA’s clandestine sub-division. As a “Splinter Cell,” Fisher is a lone agent deployed into global hotspots to neutralize threats using a combination of advanced technology, espionage, and lethal force. The franchise is iconic for its signature trifocal night-vision goggles and its challenging light-and-shadow gameplay. However, the series has been largely dormant for over a decade, with the last mainline entry, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, releasing in 2013. This long absence has left fans eager for any new content, making Deadwatch a crucial revival for the property.
Splinter Cell: Deadwatch comes from head writer Derek Kolstad, best known as the creator of the action-packed John Wick franchise, with actor Liev Schreiber lending his distinctive gravelly voice to Sam Fisher. The show is confirmed to be set between the events of two of the most acclaimed games in the series, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Splinter Cell: Double Agent. The story will pick up after Fisher was forced to kill his close friend, Douglas Shetland, to prevent a global war. As such, Deadwatch is perfectly positioned to explore the psychological toll of that event, acting as a narrative bridge to the devastating story of Double Agent, where a grieving Fisher goes deep undercover in a domestic terrorist organization following the tragic death of his daughter.
How Animation Became Netflix’s Winning Formula for Video Games Adaptation
The decision to adapt Splinter Cell into a mature animated series is a direct reflection of Netflix’s most successful strategy for video game properties. The streamer has firmly established itself as the industry leader in this space by delivering a string of critically acclaimed animated hits. This triumph was built on the foundation of earlier successes like Castlevania, which earned widespread praise over four seasons for its complex storytelling and became the first video game adaptation to be “Certified Fresh” by critics. However, the absolute pinnacle of this success is Arcane, the series based on the League of Legends universe. The show holds a perfect 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes across its seasons and made history as the first streaming series to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. Another key success was Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, which also won an Emmy and was so popular it caused a massive resurgence in sales for its source game, Cyberpunk 2077. Even more recent animated projects on the platform, such as Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and Devil May Cry, have launched to generally positive reception, reinforcing that animation is the company’s most dependable path.
Netflix’s consistent track record of high-quality animated projects stands in sharp contrast to the far more unpredictable results of live-action video game adaptations. Netflix’s version of Resident Evil was met with poor reviews and a dismal 27% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes before being swiftly canceled after one season. Meanwhile, the streamer’s live-action Assassin’s Creed show, first announced back in 2020, has remained mired in a slow development process until its official green light in July 2025.
Splinter Cell: Deadwatch does not yet have an official release date but is expected to premiere on Netflix in 2025.
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Image Courtesy of The WB Television Network -
Image Courtesy of DC Studios.
