©Deadline - UbisoftThe live-action series is described as a thrilling, action-packed thriller centered on the secret war between two rival factions: one seeks to dominate humanity through control and manipulation, while the other fights for freedom and self-determination. The series follows characters as they navigate key moments in world history and attempt to influence the course of human civilization.
Plans for an Assassin’s Creed series date back to 2017, and screenwriter Jeb Stuart (Die Hard) was initially attached to the project in 2021. With a new creative direction led by Robert Patino (Westworld) and David Wiener (Halo), Netflix aims to “bring the franchise to life in a bold, new way,” according to Peter Friedlander, VP of Scripted Series at Netflix. He calls the series a tribute to the legacy of the games and a fresh, new experience for a global audience.
Since the launch of the first game in 2007, Assassin’s Creed has become one of the best-selling game franchises of all time, with over 230 million copies sold worldwide. A film adaptation starring Michael Fassbender was previously released in 2016, but its reception was mixed. With the Netflix series, Ubisoft hopes to build a deeper and more sustained storyline in television form.
The series joins other successful Netflix film adaptations, such as Castlevania, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the upcoming Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, and the award-winning Arcane, based on League of Legends.
With names like Robert Patino and David Wiener at the helm, it certainly seems like they're taking it seriously. Hopefully, they'll seize this opportunity to tell a deep and compelling story, something the 2016 film unfortunately failed to achieve.
If the series can find the right balance between action, history, and the larger idea of control versus freedom, this could easily be one of the stronger video game adaptations to date.
I personally thought the actors did a decent job, but the story was chaotic and the CGI was substandard.
The series probably won't get any worse anytime soon, but I especially hope that the story will be put together a bit better.