Ubisoft’s free-roam sci-fi action-adventure game series Watch Dogs has received mixed reviews from critics and players alike. The game did have an interesting premise, but some felt it didn’t break out of the Ubisoft open-world formula enough to stand out among other games like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.
It seems the potential of the series has been noticed by people outside of the gaming community as well. It’s common for popular franchises to get adapted into other media, and the same is happening with a live-action movie for Watch Dogs. But is Ubisoft taking on more than it can handle?
The Watch Dogs Movie will be Created by New Regency
Deadline was the first to report on this matter. The movie will reportedly feature Sophie Wilde, who debuted in A24’s Talk to Me in 2022. The film will be directed by French genre director Mathieu Turi and feature an original storyline by Christie LeBlanc.
'Watch Dogs' Movie In The Works At New Regency With 'Talk To Me' Breakout Sophie Wilde Starring https://t.co/3ax3kSKf54
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 8, 2024
While the plot of the movie is still not revealed, it is going to take place in the fictional world created in the Ubisoft games. Given Wilde’s role as the protagonist, we may be seeing a new character not shown before in the games. It is not mentioned if anyone from Ubisoft directly involved in the game will also be participating in this project, but that may be a good thing.
Ubisoft currently has several projects in the pipeline. A leak back in January revealed there are 10 projects in various stages of development, including a mainline Ghost Recon title, three Far Cry games, and several Assassin’s Creed games. There are also the already announced projects that are yet to be released, such as the Splinter Cell remake and The Division games.
A live-action movie on one of their franchises would just be another project that would require the team to take on even more work. Crunch time is already a well-known issue in the gaming sector, and piling on more work to an already stacked team could deteriorate the quality of all projects involved.
Ubisoft’s Plans with Hollywood May Require More Forethought
Watch Dogs isn’t the first Ubisoft title to get a live-action movie. We already had Prince of Persia in 2010 and Assassin’s Creed in 2016. As with many game-to-movie adaptations, they failed to live up to the hype and were panned by both fans of the series and movie critics alike.
Without the right strategy and planning, the same could happen with the upcoming Watch Dogs movie. There is always a clash of minds when a previously created piece is being adapted for a new medium, such as the original creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender walking away from the Netflix adaptation.
These situations require time and effort to resolve, but, with Ubisoft’s personnel already handling so much, it might not be advisable to have them split their attention even further.
Do you think Ubisoft should go ahead with a Watch Dogs movie? Let us know in the comments below.
