After a decade of rumors, Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs movie adaptation is officially in production. The highly anticipated film, which has faced multiple delays since its announcement at Sony’s GamesCon in 2016, is now under the direction of Mathieu Turi (Hostile). Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) will lead the film as Aiden Pearce, the iconic vigilante hacker protagonist. Co-starring Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me), the movie will follow the original game’s storyline, where Pearce navigates the dangers of a surveillance-heavy, futuristic Chicago. The Watch Dogs movie, produced by Ubisoft Partners and New Regency, has been in the works since the first game’s release captivated audiences in 2014. Fans have long speculated about how the game’s open-world hacking, cyber warfare, and its dark, dystopian atmosphere would translate to the big screen.
Now, with filming underway, there’s a palpable sense of excitement as production progresses. Christie LeBlanc, writer of the sci-fi hit Oxygen (2021), has penned the script, with rewrites from Victoria Bata. The film is expected to bring the game’s signature hacking mechanics and fast-paced action sequences to life with stunning visuals and a grounded, emotionally charged storyline. The film will follow Pearce, who, after a family tragedy, uses his hacking skills to seek revenge against a corrupt system, setting off a chain of events that pushes the limits of morality and justice.