It is clear that an Assassin’s Creed movie was something of an inevitability, and it wasn’t a surprise for most when a film based on the Assassin’s Creed games was announced back in 2013. After all, the Assassin’s Creed franchise is one of the most dear to players and best-selling in gaming history, even if for one reason or another, we won’t be getting a mainline Assassin’s Creed game this year.
Nonetheless, fans of the video game series might still be looking forward to this big-budget movie starring Jeremy Irons and Michael Fassbender this December, a movie that’s looking like it might break the dreaded video game movie curse and do the games justice.
Because what we’ve seen so far of this Assassin’s Creed movie (which is helmed by Macbeth director Justin Kurzel) certainly looks promising, meaning this film might even appeal to general audiences and not just the video game’s fans, even if Ubisoft has admitted they don’t expect the movie to be a financial success.
But still, Ubisoft’s involvement in the movie through their Ubisoft Motion Pictures studio is certainly a plus, meaning it’s likely the film will at least be true to the video games in most respects. And one aspect of the games (and the movie too) is the focus of a recently released featurette in which stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard discuss the centuries-old rivalry between the Assassins and the Templars.
These are the two major factions vying for power in the Assassin’s Creed games, and even though players are cast as a member of the Assassin order in the video games (with one exception), it is hard to tell which side is more “good” or “evil” as both factions are attempting to alter historical events for their own purposes…
It is likely, though, that most players sympathize with the Assassin faction, given what a ruthless and cold-blooded organization the Templar-run corporation Abstergo is in the games, and looks like it will also be in this movie adaptation.
Speaking of the Templar and Assassin conflict in the film, star Michael Fassbender said that the “Assassins are making sure that freedom is still cherished and protected” while co-star Marion Cotillard say that the Templars “are more interested in power and a way to control the human race”. What is clear, though, is that if the moviemakers can get this aspect of the movie right while ensuring that Assassin’s Creed is as fun to watch as any other blockbuster, then Ubisoft and 20th Century Fox might just have a movie winner in their hands this Christmas.
COPYRIGHT: Ubisoft Motion Pictures.