'Splinter Cell' Anime Adaptation Coming From Ubisoft And Netflix

“Splinter Cell,” a series of popular stealth video games that began in 2002, is getting an anime adaptation that will be developed for Netflix.

Variety reports that two seasons of 16 episodes have been ordered by the streaming service with writer and executive producer duties going to Derek Kolstad. Kolstad is bet known for writing the hugely popular “John Wick” series of films starring Keanu Reeves.

“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell” was first released in 2002 to near-universal acclaim from critics and gamers alike. It was published and released by Ubisoft for the Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Mac, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance.

As the title indicates, it was endorsed by renowned novelist Clancy, whose reputation was built writing technically detailed espionage and military science books set during and after the Cold War.

The first “Splinter Cell” follows former U.S. Navy SEAL Sam Fisher after he is recruited by the NSA to work for the mysterious Third Echelon division within the agency. The game sees Fisher engage in a number of black ops missions, employing stealth and military tactics.

There have been six sequels to “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell” as well as a series of novels. “Splinter Cell” has long been rumored to be in development for a film adaptation with Tom Hardy attached to star as Fisher dating all the way back to 2012.

For his part, Kolstad has worked on all three of the “John Wick” films that have been produced so far. Those films have grossed over $584 million combined globally. Kolstad’s other recent credits include co-creating the Quibi series “Die Hart” starring Kevin Hart and John Travolta.

Kolstad also worked on the “Falcon and Winter Soldier” series at Disney+ starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles from the “Avengers” films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The show is still expected to debut in late 2020.

Ubisoft also produces the Apple Plus TV series “Mythic Quest,” the software developer’s first with a streaming service. That show hails from Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz and follows the team at a game development studio responsible for creating a “World of Warcraft”-type online roleplaying game.

Prior to that, Variety notes that Ubisoft previously adapted their game “Assassin’s Creed” into a film starring Michael Fassbender in 2016.