Derek Kolstad was struck by the creative freedom Ubisoft granted him while developing the animated Sam Fisher story.
The showrunner of the forthcoming animated series Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, Derek Kolstad, has been openly sharing details with various outlets as the premiere nears. In a recent exclusive with GamesRadar+, he described the limits Ubisoft set for the Netflix series and compared them to the far tighter constraints he experienced while working at Marvel Studios.
“Whenever you work with an established intellectual property, there are always some restrictions. I worked on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier for Disney, and while it was enjoyable — playing in their sandbox with their toys — you still feel like you’re in a titanium tunnel.”
Kolstad says that when he pitched Ubisoft a story about an older Sam Fisher, the company agreed and set only two requirements — “love the character and respect the intellectual property”. Beyond that, he was granted broad creative latitude, which he found especially surprising after his time at Marvel.
Nevertheless, as Kolstad previously told IGN, Ubisoft did reject a handful of proposed changes, citing their own plans; the specifics of those changes haven’t been disclosed. The animated series Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, starring Liev Schreiber as Sam Fisher, will be available on Netflix on October 14.
Source: iXBT.games