Splinter Cell: Deathwatch Showrunner Derek Kolstad Talks Game, Sam Fisher, and John Wick

The Splinter Cell series has actually been dormant for over a decade, and while we're still waiting for a Splinter Cell remake to be released, we finally get to see Sam Fisher again with the release of Splinter Cell: Death Watch on Netflix.

GameSpot's Tom Caswell recently had the opportunity to sit down with series showrunner Derek Kolstad (best known as the creator and writer of the first three John Wick films) to talk all things Splinter Cell, respecting the source material, and adhering to the quality standards set by original Sam Fisher voice actor Michael Ironside.

So, Derek, the first question is about your familiarity with the franchise and video games. Are you a gamer? How much Splinter Cell did you play before you started writing this project?

Kolstad: I'm a very casual gamer now, but I have eight-year-old twins. That's it. The bottom line is that you have to stay focused on your career when it takes off. So I think the last game I spent hundreds of hours playing was probably Skyrim, even though I was nerfed in Diablo 3 and 4. Back in the 1980s, I was a huge fan of Tom Clancy because I was a kid who read everything. So when Splinter Cell came out and it was Tom Clancy, people were like, “F**k yes!”

I'm terrible at this game because I play a shooter, so you can't treat this game like a shooter. You can't just walk into a room: you have to be sneaky. So I played the first pair and I couldn't tell you where I failed. Not for any other reason than life, but I love[Sam]as a character and I love this game. So when this happened to me, I saw Clancy and Splinter Cell as one of the old gods, and I wanted to do right by him.

Now, speaking of Splinter Cell, there are a lot of different entries in the series, but Deathwatch feels like a continuation of Chaos Theory, one of the most fan-favorite entries in the series. Could you and the team choose to build on this? If so, why Chaos Theory?

Kolstad: IP can be difficult because you have an audience, a gaming team…and then when you adapt it, you have to target a general audience. And then there are Tom Clancy fans. So you need to detail three different things. When they first came to me, I immediately chose (the 1992 film) Unforgiven . I immediately chose Old Logan and considered all games his history – as his classics. We had some flashbacks and we bent it a little bit, but I just wanted to make sure it stayed.

I don't want to be tied down to anything, because this is an adaptation, so you have to liberate yourself from those complexities that screw up the machine. That's why I love, especially Levi (Schreiber) – as the voice of Sam – how not only what's said, but what's left unsaid, advances the character and the story. We haven't seen the game in a while, so it felt like a natural progression, so we haven't seen Sam in a while as well. So when we see Sam, he's retired on a remote farm, and he's surprised he's survived at all. When proverbial trouble shows up on his doorstep, he's back in action.

Sam Fisher was originally brought to life by Michael Ironside. Liev Schreiber plays the role. Do you think Levy’s Sam is different? How much of Michael's vision of the character went into this performance?

Kolstad: I love Michael Ironside, man. There's one scene that I've always considered to be the best scene in his movies. When he looks at the wall, it's Starship Troopers and there's a swarm of bugs in it, and he just does it with his metal hand wiping his lips. It's so good. I have to go see him too. He's a character in Nobody (written by Kolstad). So I love that person. What Levi brings to it is almost like…warmth is the wrong word, but there's a stability where even someone like Sam knows that he still has something to learn, but he's learned so much that in that moment, he's just processing quickly, making decisions quickly, and playing with his moral compass.

You look at the characters we created with John Wick and Hutch, and you look at Rambo and John McClane, and they're not the best at what they do. They stand up, they have will, and oddly enough they have empathy. Levy brings that to the character that I love.

It seems like Splinter Cell fits in really well with the other work you've been working on. But obviously, it's a very storied franchise. Fans are eagerly anticipating another game. Were you apprehensive when you started this project, or did it feel right at home once you got into it?

Kolstad: I had never done animation before. I’ve never done an animated series. Since this is Splinter Cell and Tom Clancy, there's no silence or worry. It's the excitement of, “Man, let's paint ourselves into a corner and find a way out.”

McKenna is a new character to the series that you brought to the show. I like this idea, and it pretty much explains how you play a Splinter Cell game rather than how you play a Sam Fisher game. Can you talk more to the characters?

Kolstad: I think what we love about McKenna is that, in a lot of ways, she's Sam at that age. He watched her go and there she was on that sliding door stage. Does she go the way he goes or another? He's also not the type to push her in any direction. He's guiding her forward, because that's what's interesting about Sam's character. He'll encourage you, and he'll slap you, but usually to save your life. McKenna…it's not all spit and rage. She's really good at what she does, but emotions come into play.

Sam tells her, “Emotions are always going to come into play, but you have to be attuned. Don't lock them up and let them do their thing. But it's one thing for your emotions to kill you. If they killed me, I'd be very angry.” Ultimately, over the course of the series, she comes to see Sam as more of an adoptive father than an adoptive father, and she sees in him that he's doing the right things, even if she doesn't agree with them. If you watch the show carefully, you'll see that there are things that she takes from what he does and there are things that she rejects, and that's just human nature. Very interesting. She is a great character.

Very excited to meet her. Also, it would be interesting to see if she appears in future games, but they have to finish this remake first.

Kolstad: Yes, exactly. Exactly.

So we may still be a long, long way from this goal.

Kolstad: See you in 11 years, my friend.

I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about your current relationship with John Wick. I know you don’t write about movies anymore. Aside from just wanting to defend the team, how do you feel about the situation the team is in right now?

Kolstad: Very interesting. I remember on the first John Wick, Keanu pulled me aside and he said, “How many of these do you have in your head?” I was like, “Seven.”

Then again, we didn't go where I (would have gone) after the third time. “Go away” is a very kind way of saying it. But at the same time, man, I love Chad (Stahelski). I love Keanu. I love Dave (Leitch), he just made the first one and then started creating his own. It was funny, on the plane, still looking around, they were watching John Wick. My family is very close to Lance Reddick, so every time I see his face, I smile and get excited. And Ian McShane and company, this thing is bigger than me and I will always be the champion. It's my grandpa's name and I always support everyone involved.

I also don’t think when they get that big…that’s where my creative struggle is. I always think of martial arts movies, Ip Man and classic Jet Li movies, and that kind of intimate action. Yet Chad has become a master of Buster Keaton and the stairwell scene in John Wick 4, or look at 2D video games and you'll see the amazing shotgun scene in John Wick 4. I don’t think so and he does, which is awesome. I think that's the way John McClane fights the dirty cops in the elevator in Die Hard 3. This is where Hutch and I had a lot of fun. But I look at John Wick and I've wanted to be a screenwriter since I was eight years old, that's been my dream. Everyone still loves it. So, man, I'm just giddy. marvelous.

This interview has been edited for brevity and readability.