The Watch Dogs movie has gotten an interesting update from one of its stars, who teases that the film will be different from the game. Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs franchise is making the leap from console to cinema, led by director Mathieu Turi, with an original story by Christie LeBlanc and Victoria Bata, set in the same universe as the game.
Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me), and Markella Kavenagh (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) are all listed among the Watch Dogs movie’s cast, though plot details have been largely kept under wraps. There is no official release date yet, although filming wrapped on September 13, 2024.
Now, in an exclusive interview with ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley, while promoting his latest project Plainclothes, Tom Blyth offered a brief but intriguing update on the Watch Dogs movie. In the interview, Blyth teased how faithful the upcoming film will be to the games, recent reshoots, and what Sophie Wilde is like as a co-star. Check out what he said below:
Liam Crowley: Is there anything you can tell us about Watch Dogs? My gaming team at ScreenRant is feverishly excited for that adaptation.
Tom Blyth: Yeah, it’s going to be cool. We just went back and did reshoots on it recently and made it even better. It’s cool. Sophie Wilde’s amazing. It’s not the game. It is very different. They’ve done an amazing job of making… I don’t want to spoil too much. I’m trying to pick my words carefully, but they’ve done an amazing job of making the game into a film. It feels very film. It doesn’t feel like they’ve tried to copy and paste the game onto the screen. It feels like its own thing, and it feels like the beginning of a world-building exercise.
What This Means For The Watch Dogs Movie
Tom Blyth’s comments confirm two major developments. First, that the Watch Dogs movie recently underwent reshoots, often a sign of studio fine-tuning or narrative adjustments, which makes sense considering filming was reportedly wrapped in late 2024. Second, and perhaps more importantly, Blyth emphasized that the film will not be a direct adaptation of the video game, which debuted in 2014.
Rather than attempting a one-to-one recreation of the original game’s Aiden Pearce or the Chicago-set storyline, the movie will likely be set within the Watch Dogs universe with new characters, settings, and threats. Furthermore, Blyth’s “world-building” mention also hints at a broader cinematic universe, similar to what Ubisoft attempted with Assassin’s Creed, though hopefully with better critical and fan reception.
Blyth’s carefully-worded tease could be divisive. On one hand, the Watch Dog movie’s lack of direct adaptation opens the door for creative freedom, allowing the filmmakers to focus on creating a good narrative rather than game mechanics. On the other hand, it risks alienating fans who were hoping to see iconic characters or missions brought to life on screen.
Still, video game adaptations that try too hard to mimic their source material often fall flat. The most successful ones — like Five Nights at Freddy’s and Arcane — interpret the essence of the game world with a story that stands on its own. Therefore, if the Watch Dogs movie can strike that balance, Ubisoft may have its first true cinematic hit.
- Director
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Mathieu Turi
- Writers
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Christie LeBlanc
- Producers
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Yariv Milchan, Margaret Boykin
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