Jessica Chastain is in negotiations to join Jake Gyllenhaal in The Division, Ubisoft Motion Pictures’ adaptation of its own hit video game.
Gyllenhaal is producing the project with Ubisoft’s Gerard Guillemot.
The storyline is set in dystopian New York City after a smallpox pandemic. In the third-person shooter game, the player is an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division, aka The Division, and is searching for the origins of the outbreak.
Ubisoft is packaging the project before taking it to studios. It’s a process that has been effective for the company, which set up Assassin’s Creed starring Michael Fassbender at Fox and Regency (now in postproduction) and Splinter Cell with Tom Hardy at Paramount.
Ubisoft developed and published the game with Red Storm Entertainment also involved. Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were the platforms.
The twice Oscar-nominated Chastain will be seen toplining Europacorp’s Miss Sloane, a gun-rights drama that has an awards-season-minded release date of Dec. 9, and also will star opposite Daniel Bruhl in the World War II drama The Zookeeper’s Wife.
The actress also will soon tackle the lead in Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Hollywood gambling drama Molly’s Game with Idris Elba.
Chastain is repped by CAA, Mosaic, Hansen Jacobson and BWR.
