Why Square Enix Is Making a Thief Movie

Following the news that Square Enix's Thief franchise would be making the leap to the big-screen, developer Eidos-Montreal has now shared more details on the project. Studio head David Anfossi said in a statement that it is his hope that a Thief feature film will help grow the profile of the overall franchise.

"We have always been passionate about telling stories and bringing them to different mediums," Anfossi said. "With the intricate world of Thief being made into a feature film, a larger audience will be able to dive into this universe."

For its part, Blizzard has also said the Warcraft movie may help the franchise reach more people, while the Borderlands film is hoping to do the same.

The Thief movie rights were recently acquired by Los Angeles-based production company Straight Up Films. The movie will be produced by Roy Lee (The Departed, The Lego Movie) and Adrian Askarieh (Hitman, Hitman: Agent 47). Fans of the game franchise may be happy to learn that Eidos-Montreal will also have a hand in producing the film.

Adam Mason and Simon Boyes (Misconduct, Not Safe for Work)are writing the screenplay. Like the game, the movie will be set in a "dark fantasy world where a master thief tries to restore freedom, which has been denied by a magic-wielding tyrant."

There are no details at this stage about a cast, director, or release date, but we will have that information for you as it's divulged.

The Thief franchise was created by Looking Glass Studios, and the first installment was 1998's Thief: The Dark Project. Two sequels followed in the 2000s, while the most recent entry in the series was 2014's Thief.