Hitman TV Series Is Officially Dead (Exclusive)

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Hulu has cancelled its plans to create a live-action TV series based on the popular Hitman video game franchise. Derek Kolstad, the filmmaker involved, confirmed to TopMob that the project is no longer in development. The Hitman series, which first launched in 2000, is well-known as one of the most unique stealth action games available.

At the premiere of Normal during South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, TopMob had a conversation with Derek Kolstad about the upcoming TV series based on Hitman.

Kolstad was originally involved as an executive producer and writer when the project was in development at Hulu, but he recently shared a straightforward assessment of its current status.

When TopMob asked about the show’s future, Kolstad did not mince words, “It’s dead in the water:”

It’s really disappointing. It feels like that project is over, and honestly, nothing seems to be moving forward with it. I’m a big fan of the game and the character, and I even wrote a screenplay, but it’s hard to get anyone interested unless you can actually produce the movie or show. Sadly, that’s just not happening right now.

The show was originally announced in November 2017, when Hulu and Fox 21 Television Studios revealed plans to create a TV series based on the popular stealth game franchise.

Derek Kolstad, the creator of the John Wick movies, was originally going to write the first episode of the show, but it never happened.

After Disney took over, Fox 21 Television was rebranded as Touchstone Television and has not created any new shows since 2020.

Things have been relatively quiet in the gaming world recently. While IO Interactive is currently preparing for the May 27th launch of their James Bond game, 007 First Light, they’ve also announced that the Hitman series will make a comeback after Hitman 3, which came out in 2021.

Despite the recent news that a TV series is no longer in development, the story of Hitman has been made into a movie twice before. The 2007 film, Hitman, featured Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47. While critics didn’t like it – it only received a 16% score on Rotten Tomatoes – it still earned over $101 million around the world.

In 2015, the Hitman series was rebooted with Hitman: Agent 47, starring Rupert Friend (known for Obi-Wan Kenobi). This version tried to better showcase the character’s background as a clone, but critics didn’t like it, giving it a low 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Look, I’m a big Hitman fan, and it pains me to say that the movie just didn’t quite hit the mark. It landed at a time when video game adaptations were notorious for being bad – thankfully, things have gotten a lot better with those in recent years, but the movie suffered from that reputation.

The Video Game Adaptation Renaissance

Video game movies used to have a bad reputation, often seen as quick ways for Hollywood to make money, and they rarely received good reviews – the Hitman films were prime examples of this.

Things started to change in the 2020s, as movie and TV studios began putting more money into creating high-quality adaptations of popular video games. This shift has significantly improved the reputation of these types of projects.

Films based on video games, such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and A Minecraft Movie, have become huge successes in cinemas worldwide. These movies are so popular that sequels are already planned or have been released.

Television has arguably become even more successful, with critically praised shows like The Last of Us, Fallout, and Arcane proving that adapting video game stories well can appeal to both critics and everyday viewers.

With the current trend of high-quality video game adaptations, it’s disappointing that the planned Hitman series on Hulu won’t happen, as the franchise had potential to succeed in this environment.

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2026-03-16 17:35