Computer games have been slowly blurring the gap between them and movies for some time now and there has been a number of notable turkeys in terms if full movie crossover, but the recent announcement from Ubisoft and Sony Pictures Entertainment confirming a Watch Dogs movie release could take things in new positive directions.
While there’s no word on the release date for the film, the game is planned for release on the 22nd November for the PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Wii U version of the game, 29th November for the PS4 and an as yet undisclosed date in November for the Xbox ONE. Based on this we’d assume that the creators and production collaborators won’t be able to leave it too long to release the movie to build on the game’s success, so we’re predicting a 2014 release for this unless the game turns into a series.
The storyline for the movie will follow that of the game, picking up with former criminal thug turned good-guy hacking genius, Aiden Pearce. When his family life is tragically hit by the criminal underworld he’s been a part of he begins to use his brutal fighting style, street smarts and hacking skills to inflict his own vicious revenge.
Set in Chicago, Pearce has the whole city at his mercy as he uses the city’s centrally controlled computer system, Central Operating System (ctOS), to manipulate the city’s infrastructure for his own purposes. This gives him access to security cameras, traffic lights, street barriers, electricity boxes, the public transportation system and government database, which gives him information on the city’s residents.
Jean-Julien Baronnet, CEO of Ubisoft Motion Pictures, commented, “Since both Sony and Ubisoft have movie and video game branches, this deal creates exceptional opportunities for us to merge the realms of the story-based cinematic experience with the interaction of the video game… Together, we’re confident we can deliver a movie that builds upon the excitement that the game is already generating.”
The Watch Dogs movie builds on Ubisoft Motion Pictures’ 2012 short film, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha, which was released on DVD and Blu-ray on the 22nd May 2012. The newcomer to the film world has also announced full movie releases for the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell and Assassins Creed series too, working with New Regency Productions, Warner Bros. and director Michael Bay (Transformers 4).
