New Regency and Ubisoft Entertainment are teaming up for a live-action feature film based on the action-focused tactical hacker video game, “Watch Dogs.” The studio previously landed French director Mathieu Turi (“Meander“) and has chosen the first actor to lead the video game adaptation. Deadline reports that young Aussie actress Sophie Wilde has joined the project.
If you’re not familiar with the original ambitious video game, below is the official logline via Ubisoft’s website as a refresher:
You play as Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker and former thug whose criminal past led to a violent family tragedy. Now, on the hunt for those who hurt your family, you’ll be able to monitor and hack all who surround you by manipulating everything connected to the city’s network. Access omnipresent security cameras, download personal information to locate a target, control traffic lights and public transportation to stop the enemy… and more.
Wilde was a breakout of the A24 horror film “Talk To Me.” That pic was helmed by the Philippou Brothers, who are now meeting with many Hollywood studios about their filmmaking future. She recently reunited with A24 for the Halina Reijn (“Red Light“) erotic thriller “Babygirl,” which stars Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, and more.
“Watch Dogs” has a script penned by Christie LeBlanc, who previously wrote the Netflix sci-fi thriller “Oxygen” that starred Mélanie Laurent (“Inglorious Basterds“) and directed by Alexandre Aja (“Crawl“). Like most Ubisoft games, “Watch Dogs” uses real-life cities for locations as the second game moved from the Chicago setting to London with “Watch Dogs: Legion,” allowing for follow-up installments if audiences embrace the first movie. We wouldn’t be shocked if this feature were to be incarnated in Paris or mainland Europe.
Other Ubisoft adaptations include the long-forgotten Michael Fassbender-led “Assassin’s Creed” with attempts to turn their Tom Clancy games “The Division“ and “Ghost Recon“ into films as well.