Justin Kurzel’s high-profile rendition of Assassin’s Creed will align closely with Ubisoft’s video game franchise by hopping between the past and the modern day, but according to a studio executive, the vast majority of the movie will actually take place in the present.
Estimating the amount of screentime that the Michael Fassbender-led actioner will afford to the Spanish Inquisition, executive producer Pat Crowley told IGN that roughly “35 percent” of Assassin’s Creed features 15th century Spain, with the remainder focusing on Callum Lynch’s (Fassbender) struggles with Abstergo Industries in the 21st century.
Per IGN:
“There are certain things that we absolutely want to respect in the game,” he said. “But we also want to bring new elements to the game […] This isn’t a video game that we’re making. We’re trying to make a cinematic experience, so there are new things that we have to introduce.”
As the first movie in a potential film franchise, it’s not all that surprising that Ubisoft and New Regency’s tentpole will spend time fleshing out the present day setting for context, allowing audiences to gauge Fassbender’s protagonist long before he reluctantly steps foot in the Animus.
For those not up to speed with Assassin’s Creed lore, that’s a futuristic machine capable of rendering genetic memories, allowing Fassbender’s lead to experience the lives led by his clandestine ancestors. He is, in essence, a “descendant of the secret Assassins society through unlocked genetic memories that allow him to relive the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. After gaining incredible knowledge and skills he’s poised to take on the oppressive Knights Templar in the present day.”
Assassin’s Creed dives into theaters on December 21. Ariane Labed, Michael K. Williams, Jeremy Irons and Brendan Gleeson are among the extended cast list. If you didn’t catch last week’s gripping reveal trailer, you can do so here.
