THE DIVISION Starring Jake Gyllenhaal And Jessica Chastain Finds A New Director In Rawson Marshall Thurber

The movie adaptation of Ubisoft's hit video game series The Division is still on the way, but Deadpool 2 director David Leitch has now handed over the reigns to Red Notice's Rawson Marshall Thurber...

By JoshWilding - Feb 27, 2021 02:02 AM EST

Filed Under: Video Games

Deadpool 2 and John Wick director David Leitch has been attached to take the helm of The Division since 2018, but with so many other projects on the way, he's decided to step down as director. Instead, he'll now produce the Netflix video game adaptation, and has handed the reigns over to Rawson Marshall Thurber.

It makes sense, especially as that filmmaker is hard at work on Red Notice for the streamer, a highly anticipated blockbuster starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain remain attached to star, and Rafe Judkins (Wheel of Time) penned the screenplay under Leitch's watch. Thurber reportedly intends to co-write the movie from scratch with Ellen Shanman. While it's likely his next project after Red Notice, this probably means we'll be waiting a while before the movie becomes a reality.

The Division (which is actually another Tom Clancy property) broke records when it launched, while the sequel remains popular despite being released back in March 2019.

The movie has previously been described as being set in the near future, where a pandemic virus is spread via paper money on Black Friday, decimating the city of New York and killing millions. By Christmas, what’s left of society has descended into chaos. A group of civilians, trained to operate in catastrophic times, are activated in an attempt to save who and what remains.

Something tells us they might be making some changes to the whole pandemic thing...

Click on the "Next" button below to check out the 10 best
video game movies...according to Rotten Tomatoes!

10. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Score: 37%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter may prove mind-numbingly chaotic for the unconverted, but for fans of the venerable franchise, it offers a fittingly kinetic conclusion to its violent post-apocalyptic saga.

The Resident Evil movies weren't very good, and didn't exactly stick to the games. However, this blockbuster approach to the series did resonate with some fans, and the series was a financial success. None of them were well-reviewed, but the final instalment of the Milla Jovovich era was surprising received better than its predecessors. Perhaps critics were just glad to see it finally end?

9. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

Score: 37%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: It doesn't offer much in the way of substance, but Prince of Persia is a suitably entertaining swashbuckler -- and a substantial improvement over most video game adaptations.

C'mon, Disney's take on Prince of Persia wasn't that bad, was it? Whitewashing wasn't as problematic in 2010 as it is today (it should have been, obviously), but that's wasn't really an issue for most critics, anyway. For them, the story just didn't work, but that score still doesn't seem fair. It wasn't difficult to have fun with this adventure, and there are worse video game adaptations you could watch.

8. The Angry Birds Movie

Score: 43%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: The Angry Birds Movie is substantially more entertaining than any film adapted from an app has any right to be -- which may or may not be much of an endorsement.

Who could have guessed that a mobile game we all played on the toilet could make for a half-decent animated flick? We're not sure what critics were expecting from this one, especially as it was quite clearly aimed at kids, but it failed to serve as much more than a pretty standard feature-length cartoon. It certainly didn't have much to say, but it was based on app, so perhaps that's okay on this occasion?

7. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Score: 44%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: The movie raises the bar for computer animated movies, but the story is dull and emotionally removed.

This has been mostly forgotten, but at the time, the visuals it delivered were pretty groundbreaking. It never seemed to get much credit for that, and while the story admittedly didn't soar, it was relatively entertaining. An argument could be made that this was really a movie just for Final Fantasy fans, but it is a shame a big screen adaptation of the games has never followed this early offering.

6. Mortal Kombat

Score: 48%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Despite an effective otherwordly atmosphere and appropriately cheesy visuals, Mortal Kombat suffers from its poorly constructed plot, laughable dialogue, and subpar acting.

A new Mortal Kombat movie currently has everyone talking, but don't forget this 1995 "classic." Of course, it's more a cult-favourite than anything else, but despite the negatives listed above, those are easy enough to forgive. It's good fun, and does its best to pay homage to the games with a limited budget and technology. If you've played them, then give it a chance (with tempered expectations).

5. Rampage

Score: 52%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Rampage isn't as fun as its source material, but the movie's sheer button-mashing abandon might satisfy audiences in the mood for a brainless blockbuster.

For the most part, Dwayne Johnson can do no wrong, but his movies don't always earn the most positive reviews. Attempting to adapt this classic arcade/console game was an ambitious move, but as those are light on story, it was up to Rampage to fill in the gapes. It did so with limited success, and while the action and visuals were a blast, there really wasn't much more to it than that, unfortunately.

4. Tomb Raider

Score: 51%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Tomb Raider reboots the franchise with a more grounded approach and a star who's clearly more than up to the task -- neither of which are well served by an uninspired origin story.

The recent Tomb Raider games have attempted to put a grounded spin on Lara Croft's origin story, and this movie went down a similar route. Unfortunately, like the series it's based on, that didn't prove to be particularly interesting. On the plus side, Alicia Vikander was great in the role, and this was still miles ahead of other recent video game adaptations like Doom, Warcraft, and Assassin's Creed.

3. Sonic The Hedgehog

Score: 63%

Rotten or Fresh? Fresh

Critics Consensus: Fittingly fleet and frequently fun, Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game-inspired adventure the whole family can enjoy -- and a fine excuse for Jim Carrey to tap into the manic energy that launched his career.

When the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog was released, fans were horrified to see that the title character has been redesigned. His creepy new look went viral, and Paramount smartly decided to delay the movie in order to get that right. As a result, when it was released, no one commented on Sonic's look, and instead focused on Jim Carrey's memorable performance and this genuinely fun live-action blockbuster.

2. Detective Pikachu

Score: 68%

Rotten or Fresh? Fresh

Critics Consensus: Pokémon Detective Pikachu may not take its wonderfully bizarre premise as far as it could have, but this offbeat adaptation should catch most -- if not all -- of the franchise's fans.

There was a huge amount of excitement surrounding Legendary's plans for a live-action Pokémon movie, but everyone's anticipation fell when it was revealed to be...Detective Pikachu. Why not tell the story of Ash Ketchum or another trainer rather than a talking Pikachu? We still don't have the answer to that question, but this movie was awesome, and did a wonderful job of bringing the Pokémon world to life.

1. The Angry Birds Movie 2

Score: 73%

Rotten or Fresh? Fresh

Critics Consensus: Like its non-aerodynamic title characters, The Angry Birds Movie 2 takes improbable yet delightfully entertaining flight, landing humorous hits along the way.

Well, who imagined this being at the top of the list? It's not "Certified Fresh," but it's the closest movie here to reaching that accolade. Upping the laughs and improving the story, The Angry Birds Movie 2 made for entertaining viewing, and the voice cast was clearly enjoying themselves. This didn't feel like a shameless cash grab (the first one did), and you might be surprised by just how much you enjoy this one!

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19 Comments

dracula - 2/27/2021, 3:18 AM

How did an angry birds movie out score sonic and pikachu

Blergh - 2/27/2021, 3:39 AM

The Division isn't really a franchise I'd consider beloved enough to adapt into movie form just yet.

I totally get it with franchises like Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell or Assassin's Creed. But just like Ghost Recon or Rainbow Six the Division franchise doesn't strike as a unique enough voice to turn into movie form.
But I'd gladly be proven different.
What I am curious about is how Jake Gyllenhaal seems to nab himself Ubisoft roles all the time. First the Prince and now this, I personally liked his PoP movie a lot. Shame it didn't make it to a sequel, would have loved something following Warrior Within and closing with Two Thrones. But I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Good for Ubi to push into the movie market a bit, although I would rather have their more unique franchises take center stage here. The always grey Shooty McShootface stuff just isn't what I think will work

bkmeijer2 - 2/27/2021, 4:02 AM

For a game the premise sounds pretty interesting (still don't know why it carrier Tom Clancy's name though), but doubt it'll work in a movie.

Don't know much about the director (doubt Red Notice will be any good), but the cast for this is great though, so might still give it a chance.

LittleSween - 2/27/2021, 6:07 AM

Jake Gyllenhaal is super underrated, and Chastain is always awesome so why not.
Strange game to adapt to film though, ain't it just gonna be a war film all things considered ?

teefurtree - 2/27/2021, 7:09 AM

@LittleSween - Yeah this is a great set of leads. Also the material certainly has become more touchy since I dunno, last January, lol :'(

LittleSween - 2/28/2021, 12:57 AM

@teefurtree - just wasn't sure what sets this apart from say "Medal of Honour" or "Call of Duty". Felt pointless adapting what is basically a war film

teefurtree - 2/28/2021, 7:46 AM

@LittleSween - I've never played the game, but isn't it set in the aftermath of an epidemic and has an apocalyptic vibe? Maybe that's not explored much in the game in favor of shooty-shooty-'splosion.

ModHaterSLADE - 2/27/2021, 9:02 AM

Now if only we could get that Splinter Cell movie.

RitoRevolto - 2/27/2021, 10:49 AM

The Division is getting a movie? I must've missed that news. Anyways, I'm interested just based of Jake and Jessica alone.

Himura - 2/27/2021, 3:49 PM

The premise of the game is actually more relevant than ever thanks to covid. I could see why pursuing this might be even more lucrative now.

Chuck420Taylor - 2/27/2021, 9:36 PM

I'll say it. I am not a fan of Chastain. Really sad to see director go.. I was a day 1 fan of this game and if they aren't Easter eggs of glitches, this movie has failed me. the premise was always crazy because the thought of a pathogen being spread through currency on Black Friday was scary enough before living in our own.

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THE DIVISION Starring Jake Gyllenhaal And Jessica Chastain Finds A New Director In Rawson Marshall Thurber

The movie adaptation of Ubisoft's hit video game series The Division is still on the way, but Deadpool 2 director David Leitch has now handed over the reigns to Red Notice's Rawson Marshall Thurber...

10. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

9. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

8. The Angry Birds Movie

7. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

6. Mortal Kombat

5. Rampage

4. Tomb Raider

3. Sonic The Hedgehog

2. Detective Pikachu

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