Can the combined powers of Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain end the video game movie curse? It appears like we will soon find out.
Variety is reporting that the two A-listers have signed on to a new film called “The Division,” which will be directed by “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch. The film is based on the video game that takes place in a near future where paper money was laced with a virus and released on Black Friday. This leads to millions of people dying in New York City, and society is thrown into chaos. The story follows a group of civilians that are trained to tackle catastrophic times and save the world. We’re guessing those people are Chastain and Gyllenhaal.
This isn’t the first time that Gyllenhaal has attempted to adapt a video game for the big screen. His “Prince of Persia” failed to live up to the hype and ended up being a rare misstep for the actor. Chastain has flirted with big-budget films in the past, with not much success, appearing in the disappointing “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” and “Crimson Peak.” Her next major role is in the upcoming superhero movie, “X-Men: Dark Phoenix.”
Leitch is most definitely one of the most in-demand filmmakers in Hollywood. After co-directing the “John Wick” films, he has gone on to forge his own path with “Atomic Blonde” and the upcoming “Deadpool 2.” It was just announced that his next project would be the massive ‘Fast and Furious’ spin-off film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham.
Variety says that the hope is for Leitch to begin to prep “The Division” for a 2019 start date. While we’ve had more serious attempts at video game films in the last couple years, with “Rampage” being the most recent, “The Division” is shaping up to be the film that might break the curse, for good.
A film directed by Leitch and starring Gyllenhaal and Chastain can’t possibly be bad, right?