According to mxdwn, Netflix announced back in 2020 that a Splinter Cell anime was in the works, based on the video game and novel franchise. During Netflix’s 2024 Geeked Week, a teaser trailer debuted for the upcoming series, officially titled Splinter Cell: Deathwatch.
Attached to the project is the creator of the John Wick franchise, Derek Kolstad (Nobody, Die Hart), who serves as the show’s writer and executive producer via Comicbook.com. Joining Kolstad as additional executive producers are Hugo Revon (The Love Punch, Captain Lazerhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix), Helene Juguet (Cold Fear, Captain Lazerhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix) and Gerard Guillemot (Mythic Quest, Assassin’s Creed) as part of Ubisoft Film & Television. The series is co-directed by Félicien Colmet-Daage (The Summit of Gods, Les Grands Mythes) and Guillaume Dousse (Love, Death & Robots, Myosis) with Fost and Sun Creature animation studios.
As heard from the new trailer, starring as the voice of protagonist Sam Fisher is Liev Schreiber (Spotlight, X Men Origins: Wolverine). Sam Fisher is a “singular black operative agent for the fictional Third Echelon” and in the Ubisoft Splinter Cell game, “navigates missions revolving around information warfare and other covert operations,” according to mxdwn. In the trailer, Sam is seen sinking through water while a voice over (Schreiber) plays, saying “Don’t be afraid. Darkness is a good thing. Once you get used to the shadows, you see bad people for who they are. And they’ll never see you coming for them.” The sequence then changes to an image of a casket with the name “Douglas Shetland.” The trailer then ends with Sam’s iconic green glowing night vision goggles appearing from the shadows.
According to Comicbook.com, the trailer suggests that Splinter Cell: Deathwatch may take place sometime between the games Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Comicbook.com explains this as a possibility because Douglas Shetland dies within the timeline of these two game titles.
While Netflix has yet to announce a release date for Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, the trailer is available to watch below.