Videogame publisher Ubisoft has been developing a film based on Assassin’s Creed, the critically-acclaimed videogame franchise known for its historically accurate Renaissance politics and for its rotating cast of sad-eyed roof-jumping ninja monks. Over the summer, Ubisoft announced that it was officially partnering with possible superhuman Michael Fassbender to play the lead in the movie — although given that Assassin’s Creed takes place across several time periods, it was entirely possible that Fassbender was playing multiple characters, each with their own unique accent and rippling six-pack. But although Fassbender’s Assassin’s Creed sounded good in theory — especially when you nicknamed itFassassin’s Creed in your head — it seemed unlikely that the movie would ever get made. The last time a videogame company took such an active role in the creation of a game adaptation, it was with Microsoft’s Halo movie, which had a producer (Peter Jackson) and a director (Neill Blomkamp) and a writer (Alex Garland) and a pair of studios (Universal, 20th Century Fox) — indeed, everything a movie could possibly need, except for an actual movie.
But Assassin’s Creed is still in motion. Today, Ubisoft announced an official partnership with New Regency, the production company behind Man on Fire, Love & Other Drugs, and Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming Noah. New Regency also produced next year’s 12 Years a Slave, which stars Fassbender. In a press release, Ubisoft CEO Jean-Julien Baronnet said, “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.”
It’s unclear whether the film would be an adaptation of the first Assassin’s Creed — which follows an assassin in the Middle East during the Crusades, a setting that could be a bit controversial — or the more popular Assassin’s Creed II, which is set in 15th Century Italy and features lovable sidekick Leonardo da Vinci.