Last year, it was announced that Netflix and Ubisoft are teaming up to produce an anime series based upon Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell video game franchise and continue the story of fan-favourite character Sam Fisher.
Now, in an interview with Collider, writer Derek Kolstad has provided an update on the series while confirming both the episode count for the first season and episode length.
“The first [season] is officially greenlit, and it’ll be eight episodes. And the bible for that I’m finishing up and sending off,” said Kolstad. Although the Splinter Cell series has only been picked up for eight episodes, Kolstad later confirmed that the plan is to most likely produce 16 episodes, and he’s aiming for episodes that run between 20 to 30 minutes.
“I like the idea of 20-30 minute episodes. I like the idea of following two different timelines, and being introduced to a character both upon inception and where he is now… [because] it just leaves the audience wanting more. It’ll be 12:40 at night and you’re like, ‘Ugh, I kind of want to watch another one. Oh, 24 minutes? Cool.’ I just want to render it down to simplicity. And I know I’m a writer, and I’m supposed to say, ‘you should really read my dialogue,’ but I like the unspoken narrative. And [with] animation, it’s incredibly powerful when you can do a sequence of events and just have music. And it’s all character moments. And so Splinter Cell has been a joy in that regard,” Kolstad said.
As for when fans can expect the animated Splinter Cell series to debut on Netflix, Kolstad provided a potential release window while stating that 2021 is out of the question.
“Probably two years. Probably, no, about 18 months. These things, from inception to execution, are 18 months to two years. My job will be done in probably six months with the other writers. And yet you’re always on standby to go, like, ‘This isn’t working. This line sucks. The actor wants to do something cool.’ But I also believe that, especially in animation, if they can have all the episodes in hand going into it, I make their job easier, too.”
The first Splinter Cell game was released back in 2002 and went on to spawn six sequels with the latest game in the series being 2013’s Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist. The franchise has sold over 30 million copies, making it one of Ubisoft’s bestselling IPs.
