An Assassin’s Creed movie is reportedly in the works at New Regency, according to Variety . The film would serve as the first cinematic adaptation of the extremely popular video game franchise. Coincidentally, Assassin’s Creed 3 is preparing to hit retail shelves on October 30.
The film will serve as a partnership between Ubisoft, New Regency, and 20th Century Fox. Now that producers have secured X-Men: First Class co-star Michael Fassbender for the lead role, it’s only a matter of time before this thing ends up in front of the camera.
“We wanted to do everything we could to secure the rights to ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ which Ubisoft has maintained with such care and quality over the years,” New Regency president and CEO Brad Weston explained. He added that Fassbender’s involvement with the project made it that much harder to resist.
Ubisoft Motion Pictures CEO Jean-Julien Baronnet has big plans for the Assassin’s Creed franchise. However, in order to ensure that the company doesn’t have to single-handedly bear the weight of such a risky venture, the company has decided to co-produce the film with New Regency and Fox. After all, most video game adaptations aren’t exactly box office darlings.
“Ubisoft chose to partner with New Regency because they are a talent and filmmaker-driven company, with the same independent and creative mindset that we have at Ubisoft Motion Pictures,” Baronnet explained. “Bringing aboard New Regency’s renowned production and distribution expertise while maintaining our own creative and financial flexibility ensures that ‘Assassin’s Creed’ will be a high-quality film that respects the lore and fans of the video game franchise.”
According to MovieWeb , the film will follow the adventures of a guy who learns that his ancestors were once deadly assassins. After he’s kidnapped by a shady organization with ties to the Knights Templar, he is forced to travel back through time to collect artifacts.
Should everything fall into place, Ubisoft hopes to have a director and cast in place by next summer. What’s more, the company would love to launch another game as a tie-in with the motion picture.
Given the history of video game adaptations, do you think an Assassin’s Creed movie is a good idea?