Plans for a live-action television adaptation of the popular Hitman video game franchise have been officially cancelled, nearly nine years after initial development began. The project, which was to be a series on Hulu, is now “dead in the water,” according to Derek Kolstad, the filmmaker who was attached as an executive producer, and writer.
Kolstad shared the update following a conversation with The Direct at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, on March 16, 2026. The news marks the end of a long-gestating effort to bring the stealth-action franchise to the small screen.
“No… It’s a little bit of a dagger in the chest. Who knows nowadays, but it’s dead in the water,” Kolstad stated. “But, man, I love that thing, due to the fact that I love that game and I love that character. But the problem is, I can write a screenplay, but no one’s going to head out and buy the screenplay. You’ve got to make the movie, you’ve got to make the show. But nothing’s happening with that man, sadly.”
The series was first announced in November 2017, with Hulu and Fox 21 Television Studios planning the adaptation. The cancellation comes as Fox 21 Television Studios has been rebranded as Touchstone Television under Disney’s ownership and has not produced a modern series since 2020, signaling a shift in the company’s content strategy.
Kolstad, known for his work creating the John Wick franchise, had been set to write the pilot episode, but it was never completed. Shacknews and GameSpot also reported on the project’s demise. The cancellation underscores the challenges of adapting popular video game franchises for television, particularly in a competitive streaming landscape.
