Ubisoft and Binge are teaming up for a live-action series adaptation of the popular Driver video game franchise.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that Driver is officially shifting gears and returning to screens with a live-action series that will "focus on undercover agent and ex-racecar driver John Tanner as he tries to take down a crime syndicate." The series will be released exclusively on Binge, a new streaming platform dedicated to delivering premium entertainment for gamers.
The Driver series will be produced by Binge's Vincent Talenti and Allan Ungar, who directed and co-wrote the Uncharted live-action fan film that took the internet by storm upon its release in 2018. The Driver series' executive producers hail from Ubisoft Film & Television, with Jason Altman, Danielle Kreinik, and Genevieve Jones attached to the project.
"Our mission at Ubisoft is to bring our games to life in new and exciting ways and create content set in the world, culture and community of gaming," Kreinik said of the new series. "Working with Binge will allow us to bring a Driver series directly to the audience who is most passionate about seeing this franchise come to life."
"Having the opportunity to adapt Driver alongside the team at Ubisoft Film & Television is a dream come true," Ungar added following the project's announcement. "As longtime fans of the franchise, we're excited to deliver an original, premium and rich storytelling experience that will take fans and newcomers on a thrilling ride."
The first game of the Driver series was released for the PlayStation in 1999 and its runaway popularity fuelled five further main installments. IGN's review of 2011's Driver: San Francisco called it a "game-changing, eyebrow-raising idea" infused with "unparalleled variety and a ridiculous supernatural twist whilst staying true to its Seventies chase-movie roots."
The new Driver series adaptation joins a growing slate of Ubisoft TV and movie projects, including a live-action Assassin's Creed series for Netflix, a Beyond Good and Evil movie helmed by Detective Pikachu director Rob Letterman, and a movie based on The Division starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain.
Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.