‘Assassin’s Creed’: Michael Fassbender Was Ignorant About The Game
A few days ago, three images of the Assassin’s Creed movie hit the web, and fans of the stealth game got a glimpse of Michael Fassbender in action. The 39-year-old actor will be playing the role of Callum Lynch, a drifter who will find out more about his ancestor Aguilar, who is a member of a secret society, by tapping into his memories.
OKAY, POLL. Who’s excited for the Assassin’s Creed movie? pic.twitter.com/UirmPnyLgb
— Machinima (@Machinima) May 9, 2016
New Assassin’s Creed images pic.twitter.com/8krq3zlOni
— Film Hype (@FilmHyp) May 9, 2016
The Assassin’s Creed movie is based on the Assassin’s Creed series of games. The games center on the struggle between the Assassins and the Templars through the ages. The game jumps back and forth between the present day and the past. The first character introduced in the game is Desmond Miles, a simple bartender who finds out that he is a descendant of a member of the Assassins.
The movie, however, will not be based on any of the characters in the game. Fassbender’s character Callum Lynch was created for the movie and doesn’t appear in any of the Assassin’s Creed games.
Michael Fassbender was approached by Ubisoft, the developer of Assassin’s Creed, to play the lead role in the film adaptation. Now Fassbender, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, admits that he had never played the game before and was completely ignorant.
“I hadn’t played it. I was totally ignorant.”
In the interview, Fassbender said that he is not into video games, though he mentioned that at one point, he was obsessed with one racing game.
“I’d get obsessive about it and sit there for six hours straight. I decided it wasn’t the best thing for me to have around.”
Michael Fassbender talked more about Callum Lynch’s background and says that he has no family.
“We thought it would be interesting to have somebody that was disconnected be faced with what it means to join something so sacrificial.”
Assassin’s Creed‘s director, Justin Kurzel, also admits that he had never played the game before deciding to helm the project. However, not knowing what it’s all about was also what attracted the director to the project. “That’s probably what attracted me to it — how frightening it was,” Kurzel said.
Assassins. Assemble. #AssassinsCreedMovie pic.twitter.com/hmF27ZwVTm
— Assassin’s Creed (@AssassinsMovie) January 2, 2016
It’s probably a good thing that the director never played Assassin’s Creed, as it could have ruined his vision for the movie. Rather than just translating the game into a movie, Kurzel said that he approached the project with the question, “How do you make this into a piece of cinema?”
As reported by Cosmic Book News, Michael Fassbender will be starring alongside Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons. The movie, just like the game, will be jumping back and forth between the Spanish Inquisition and the present day.
Assassin’s Creed is just one of the several games with upcoming movie adaptations. Other movies based on games that will be released in the near future are Warcraft and The Angry Birds. Ubisoft will also be working on a Splinter Cell movie, with Tom Hardy rumored to be the star.
Pre-purchase for tickets are already available for U.S. residents on the Kernel website, and treats such as apparel, toys, and other Assassin’s Creed merchandise can be acquired through the different packages.
Assassin’s Creed will be released in theaters on December 21, and a trailer for the movie will be released on Wednesday.
[Image via Assassin’s Creed Movie/Facebook]