We finally have a trailer for this year’s Assassin’s Creed film adaptation. The trailer shows star Michael Fassbender getting a cryptic description of Abstergo Industries from Marion Cotillard before being plugged into the animus (or grappled, as it were). Like the games he’s thrust into a prominent place in history. It is the height of the Spanish Inquisition in 15th century Spain. Our hero relives the exploits of his assassin ancestor’s secret war against the templar.
Ubisoft has confirmed that the film is not a direct adaptation of any of the Assassin Creed video games. Instead a new screenplay was written specifically for the film. Ubisoft’s goal is to have the films take place in the same worlds, but with entirely new stories and characters.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has been a cornerstone for Ubisoft for nearly a decade. Over a dozen Assassin’s Creed games have been released since 2007. 2016 will be the first year without a main entry in the series since 2008.
The games are praised for their high production values and open world exploration, while often criticized for buggy releases. The latest release was 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, which put players in Victorian Era London.
Films based on video games have a notoriously terrible track record. Results range from “halfway decent” to “what the hell happened.” This year sees the release of two major video game films that hope to reverse the trend – Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed. Warcraft will be released June 10 and tells the backstory of when the humans and orcs first met.
Assassin’s Creed will hit theaters December 21, 2016. It is directed by Justin Kurzel and stars Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and Jeremy Irons.
