Netflix Acquires Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain's 'The Division'

Netflix is getting in the video game movie business.


The streaming service has acquired rights to The Division, Ubisoft Motion Pictures’ adaptation of its hit video game that has Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal attached to star. David Leitch, the filmmaker behind Deadpool 2 and the upcoming Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, is directing.


The deal was announced onstage Monday at E3 during Ubisoft's presentation.


The film has been in development with some time, with Chastain joining in 2016 and Leitch following in 2018. 2016's Tom Clancy's The Division is set in dystopian New York City after a smallpox pandemic. In the third-person shooter game, the player is an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division, aka The Division, and is searching for the origins of the outbreak.


Following the game's 2016 release, Ubisoft said the online-only title broke the studio's record for highest number of first-day sales. It has generated over $300 million globally and has reached 20 million users. A sequel debuted in March.


Gyllenhaal is producing the project with Ubisoft’s Gerard Guillemot. Ubisoft developed and published the game with Red Storm Entertainment also involved.