Watch Dogs

[Darth Marcus]

Source: Collider

The 'Watch Dogs' Movie Adaptation Just Got a Major Update
Britta DeVore - July 3, 2024

• The Watch Dogs live-action adaptation is officially in production, starring Sophie Wilde and Tom Blythe.

• Based on Ubisoft's video game series, the movie explores government corruption.

• The film could draw from games, books, and comic book miniseries, potentially featuring a globe-trotting adventure.

The dogs are on the loose and they’re ready to shake things up as Mathieu Turi’s Watch Dogs is now officially in production. The announcement came via a social media post that shows a clapper board on the set of the live-action feature adaptation of the fan-favorite video game series that started with 2014’s Watch Dogs. While there aren’t any shots of the leading stars attached to the production, we imagine that Sophie Wilde, who celebrated a career breakthrough in A24’s horror hit Talk to Me, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Tom Blythe aren’t far from the cameras.

The original game comes from Ubisoft and allows players to hack into Chicago’s electronic grid and choose chaos while controlling traffic lights, bridges, security cameras, and more. But on a deeper level, Watch Dogs is all about exposing government corruption and putting the power back in the hands of the little people. There’s also the big bad ctOS (central Operating System), which works as an all-knowing network that holds all the private information of the civilians living in The Windy City. Using their incredible skills, the first-player hackers really put the hurt on those who use their positions of power for greed and personal gain.

Presuming that the live-action feature isn’t shooting for franchise territory, it will have plenty of material to pull from, as there are three games in the series, with Watch Dogs 2, transporting players to San Francisco, and Watch Dogs: Legion hopping across the pond to London. With this, we can presume the movie to be a globe-trotting adventure for Wilde and Blythe’s characters and anyone else who jots their names onto the call sheets. There’s also a possibility that the under-wraps plot will branch out from the video games and dip into the books and comic book miniseries that have acted as spin-offs.

Video games turned on-screen adaptations are all the rage these days and Ubisoft has long been on the train of giving their players another reason to head to the cinema. Back in 2016, filmmaker Justin Kurzel tapped stars like Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson for a feature-length take on the uber-popular Assassin’s Creed, with other titles including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Division making the crossover with Jake Gyllenhaal in the leading spot. Along with Watch Dogs, Ubisoft has also paired with major studios to back other upcoming projects, including a cinematic makeover of the fan-favorite Beyond Good & Evil.

[Prog5000]

I’m in.

[Foggy]

I mean it’s not the worst IP to dig into, but it’s kinda funny none of these games really took off and now they’re trying to launch a film franchise from it.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I mean it’s not the worst IP to dig into, but it’s kinda funny none of these games really took off and now they’re trying to launch a film franchise from it.

Yup, this feels like a decade too late at this point. Not sure what its target audience is going to be, and without any recognizable names I don't see it being anything other than a flop.

[Pieter V]

Ubisoft
@Ubisoft
run film_wrapped.exe(#watchdogsmovie.mp4)
...
...
>Filming complete!

https://x.com/Ubisoft/status/1834623105429287131

[Zivouhr]

I doubt this will be in theaters, but probably adapted to TV streaming channels. Officially in production, that's surprising if it's past pre-production.

The Watch Dog Series from Ubisoft seems to be extinct as of 2024. Watch Dogs Legion was the last game, and in it, Aiden Pearce, the original hero of Chicago from Watch Dogs 1, returned with a conclusive DLC to end his story, and probably the series too. There has been zero word about a new Watch Dogs game since 2020's Watch Dogs Legion release.

As far as a movie about it, I think it could work well, but there are so many existing movies with a similar theme of a tech genius assassin versus a controlled, oppressive future under corporate and government control, punishing citizens for not conforming to strict rules.

I'd be surprised if they have the main character based on Aiden Pearce, the main hero of Watch Dogs.

Creative game series, action espionage open world franchise from Ubisoft for PS4 and PS5 while it lasted.

Watch Dogs vs Watch Dogs 2 vs Watch Dogs Legion - Physics and Details Comparison - YouTube