Posted in: Movies, Netflix | Tagged: movies, netflix, the division

Rawson Marshall Thurber to Direct Netflix's Adaptation of The Division

We have another video game adaptation on the horizon, this time based on The Division. Here's the thing about video game adaptations that so many filmmakers seem to forget; you are completely changing mediums in a way that is even more different from other forms of adaptations. You don't watch a movie the same way you read a book; you don't watch a play the same way you read a comic, and so on. However, video games are different because they are interactive while other mediums [books, TV, comics, movies] are inactive. So not only are you changing mediums, but you are also losing a fundamental part of the original work by making it inactive.

Ever since video games became the thing in the world, movie studios have been trying to figure out how to adapt them. We have Mortal Kombat this year alone, and we have the forever delayed Uncharted. Netflix is stepping up to the plate after a successful run of adapting Castlevania. According to Deadline, Netflix has found a director for their film adaptation of Ubisoft's The Division with Red Notice and Skyscraper director Rawson Marshall Thurber.

Not only does Netflix have a director, but they also managed to snag two major stars with Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal as the stars. Thurber is reportedly coming on as a replacement for David Leitch, who had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts though he will stay on as a producer. They also won the rights to The Divison game property back in 2019 in a fierce bidding war.

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.

There currently isn't a release date for The Division, but with a director and two major stars signed on, there is a good chance this movie is much further along than we might think. If the supporting cast starts to fill out within the next couple of weeks, then we should expect production to start this summer or fall, with maybe a mid-2022 release date on the horizon. We'll have to see just how much Netflix wants to get this off of the ground and if they want to fast track it.

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