Fans Of Tom Clancy's The Division Finally Have Great News About The Netflix Film

Tom Clancy's media empire has long included thrilling books, movies, and video games based on the international worlds of espionage and military intrigue. Though the author died in 2013 (via The Guardian), his legacy lives on in properties like "Tom Clancy's The Division," a third-person shooter video game set in a dystopian New York City following a smallpox epidemic. The "Division" in the name refers to the Strategic Homeland Division, and players take on the role of agents trying to rebuild the agency while battling enemy factions who have thrived in the wake of the chaos caused by medical terrorism.

"The Division" did well when it was first released in 2016, taking in $330 million in just five days (via Eurogamer) and instantly becoming the fastest-selling new gaming IP. It did well enough to spawn a sequel, "Tom Clancy's The Division 2," which took the action to a Washington, D.C. setting that has descended into lawlessness, with sectors being controlled by different militias. The series' popularity also led Ubisoft to bring the franchise to other media; Variety reported just a few months after the first "The Division" broke records that Jake Gyllenhaal was linked to a new film based on the property. Since then, fans have received other tidbits about director turnover and the fact that Netflix bought distribution rights in 2019.

Now, director Rawson Marshall Thurber has revealed some information about the status of production, and it should be good news for those keeping track.

Early in 2021, Thurber took the reins of the production following Stephen Gaghan and then David Leitch's departure (via Variety). In an interview with The Playlist, Thurber said that the film is finally making progress after being five years in the works. "That's going to be my next movie," Thurber said. "We've just finished a rewrite on the script and we're prepping to make it this year. I think, finally having finished 'Red Notice,' I'm going to take a pass on the draft and make some tweaks and then hopefully we'll get going." 

He expressed some major excitement about what's coming, and about the film's stars. "Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain are incredibly committed to the project and passionate about it. I love the game; I've played the game ... I keep pinching myself. I can't believe I get the chance to make 'The Division' and I can't wait to start," Thurber said.

Thurber is known for films like "Easy A," "Central Intelligence," and "We're the Millers," but his action-comedy "Red Notice" with Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds is in theaters now and will be debuting on Netflix on November 12. His comments suggest, however, that "Tom Clancy's The Division" is firmly in the pre-production process. There's not much time left in "this year," if Thurber truly means 2021, but fans could definitely see this action-oriented project come to cinematic life by 2023.