Jake Gyllenhaal to Star in Movie Adaptation of Video Game 'The Division'

Image from Ubisoft

By Darian Scalamoni

Jake Gyllenhaal is debatably one of the best working actors around in Hollywood right now. With tremendous performances over the last few years with films like Prisoners, Nightcrawler and Southpaw it seems like the guy is in everything. Variety has reported that Gyllenhaal’s busy schedule will be adding another project, this one involving Hollywood’s latest attempt at bringing a video game to the big screen in the movie based on Tom Clancy’s The Division.

            The Ubisoft game has been breaking records since the game’s release back in March and now Ubisoft’s movie division (no pun intended) has decided to bring in an A-list talent such as Gyllenhaal to star in the adaptation. Gyllenhaal has also signed on to produce the film as well as Ubisoft is currently looking for someone to write the project.

            The game is set in a dystopian New York City in the aftermath of a smallpox pandemic. The player, who is an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division, is tasked with helping rebuild the Division’s operations in Manhattan, investigating the nature of the outbreak and combating criminal activity in its wake.

            The game company turned entertainment company currently has Assassin’s Creed in post-production starring Michael Fassbender at Fox and have a Splinter Cell movie planned at Paramount with Tom Hardy attached.

            Gyllenhaal’s busy schedule has him working with some tremendous talent in the next couple of years including Tom Ford (A Single Man) in Nocturnal Animals, Bong Joon-Ho (Snowpiercer) in Okja and David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) in Stronger.

            Also, read our post here about Gyllenhaal signing onto another project just a few days ago with Prisoners director, Denis Villanueve.