Tom Hardy to Sneak Onto 'Splinter Cell'

Following his stint as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, a character who is not known for subtlety, it looks like Tom Hardy will be decidedly stealthier during his next foray in the action world.  THR reports that the British actor will sign on to play the role of special agent Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell, adapted from Ubisoft's acclaimed stealth-action game series.

Ubisoft will be developing the project in-house as they’ve been doing with the upcoming Assassin’s Creed film, starring Michael Fassbender.

The series that bears the name of novelist Tom Clancy, which began in 2002, centers on the exploits of the aforementioned Sam Fisher, a black-ops agent for a fictional division of the NSA Third Echelon, and his ongoing struggle keeping the world safe from international terrorists.

Game number seven in the series, the upcoming Splinter Cell: Blacklist, is due in 2013.  There are also multiple novels that coincide with Fisher's adventures.

The film is based on a script by Eric Singer, who also wrote the upcoming David O. Russell project American Bulls**t, starring Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Christian Bale.

Get ready for the time of the video game movie if Ubisoft's big gamble works out.  Judging by the talent the game company is assembling, it just might be able to make a brand in the world of gaming movies that could rival Marvel's domination of comic-book movies.  Either way I can't wait to see Tom Hardy wearing the signature trifocal goggles.