As part of Geeked Week, Netflix has released the first look at Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, the animated series based on the hugely successful video game series, Splinter Cell. Liev Schreiber takes on the mantle of Sam Fisher, the lead character in the video games. The series comes from co-directors Guillaume Dousse and Félicien Colmet-Daage, head writer Derek Kolstad (John Wick), animation studios Sun Creature and Fost, and executive producers Kolstad, Helene Juguet, Hugo Revon, and Gerard Guillemot for Ubisoft Film & Television. The series was first announced in 2021 and, although word had gone quiet, fans will be thrilled to get their first look at the eagerly anticipated animated series.
First introduced in 2002, Fisher is a highly skilled covert operative working for a fictional black-ops division of the NSA called “Third Echelon.” In the series, Fisher now works with “Fourth Echelon,” which was introduced in the most recent game, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which was released in 2013. Fisher is one of the most iconic video game characters of the 21st century, best known for his instantly recognizable night-vision goggles and his tactical approach to succeeding in missions. Fisher also has a daughter, Sarah, who brings out the better, softer side of the character.
What Are the ‘Splinter Cell’ Games About?
The games (a personal favorite of this writer) tend to focus on stealth, espionage, and covert operations, similar to games like Metal Gear Solid and Hitman. The player takes control of Fisher, and they control his involvement in preventing global terrorism, cyber warfare, and political conspiracies while also being confronted with morally difficult decision-making, including whether or not to kill specific targets.
To date, there have been six games — Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell (2002), Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004), Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005), Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006), Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010) and Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013). In all six games, players must avoid detection, and use the environment to hide, while using hacking, intel gathering, and sabotage as their tactics in-game. The series allows the player to take on the role of a lone wolf who attempts the near-impossible to protect those he loves, and the wider world around them.
Showrunner Derek Kolstad has already expressed his enthusiasm for the series, in an interview with Collider:
“Animation is fucking cool, dude. You send in a script and they make it. It isn’t a matter of casting this, this, this, or that. It’s like, ‘What do you want to do, Derek?’ ‘I think this would be cool.’ ‘That would be cool!’ We start it.”
Stay tuned to Collider for more on Splinter Cell: Deathwatch.
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