A TV show based on Ubisoft’s Far Cry franchise is allegedly in development at FX.
Confirmation came not via a leak but apparently from Ubisoft itself, which posted about the show on its own site before quickly redirecting it back to the main page again, albeit not quite quickly enough to have escaped the notice of Reddit.
Those who managed to access the page before it was removed report Rob Mac (Rob McElhenney) (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mythic Quest, Welcome to Wrexham) and Hawley (Fargo, Alien: Earth) are the Far Cry series’ co-creators. Hawley will also reportedly serve as showrunner, while Mac is set to star in the show.
The series will be executive produced by Mac, Hawley, and Jackie Cohn for More Better Productions, Michael Garcia for 26Keys Productions, Nick Frenkel for 3Arts Entertainment, and Ubisoft’s Gerard Guillemot, Margaret Boykin, and Austin Dill.
“This collaboration is really an embarrassment of riches,” Boykin, who serves as Ubisoft Film & Television head of film and television content. “Far Cry a psychological tailspin that doesn’t shy away from the darkest and most absurd parts of humanity, which aligns perfectly with FX’s bold and fearless storytelling style.”
It’s thought the show will be an “anthology drama”, where “each season will be set in a new world with a different cast of characters following the video game franchise’s signature standalone storytelling format”.
For now all we can do is chalk this up to a rumour, but it does fit with Ubisoft’s plans to expand its three tentpole franchises, Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry, for which Ubisoft launched a new subsidiary back in March after Chinese conglomerate Tencent invested €1.16bn in a minority stake in the new entity.
Ubisoft’s announcement followed several reports that a new venture was being considered using the company’s assets, including claims Ubisoft was mulling over the launch of a fresh business unit part-owned by outside companies, noting such a tactic could potentially result in the new entity being valued higher than Ubisoft itself following years of falling share prices and a string of disappointing game launches.