Right on the heels –like, immediately on the heels– of the news that Ubisoft had moved forward on their Splinter Cell development by hiring a screenwriter comes the arguably much bigger news that they’ve also signed a star!

Even without settling on whether they’ll partner with WB or Paramount on the film, Ubi has signed up Tom Hardy to lead the covert ops flick, according to Variety.

This is yet another feather in the star’s action cap, as Bane still remains many folk’s favorite element of one of the year’s biggest films, The Dark Knight Rises, while he has a Mad Max franchise in production as well.

With both the star and screenwriter cats out of the bag, the trade got the president of the Ubisoft Motion Picture company (it’s a thing!) to comment on both choices.

“Tom Hardy is currently one of the biggest talents in the film industry, and he has a phenomenal ability to take on complex and varied roles with his broad range of acting skill. His involvement in the ‘Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell’ movie is exciting news for movie and video game fans alike. Meanwhile, Eric Singer is one of the most talented writers of the moment, and … we’re confident he’ll bring a fresh approach and create a thrilling story … while still respecting all the codes and traditions of the franchise that are so important to fans.”

So expect word on a studio partnership, a director choice, and a start date soon- this one sounds ready to go.