At long last, Ubisoft Motion Pictures has begun production on its starry Assassin’s Creed movie – and we have the first set photo to prove it.
Coming by way of Azaïzia Aymar, head of content for the franchise at the mega-publisher, the image is but a tease of what to expect from the live-action rendition, and fans of the video game juggernaut will recognize the symbol in a heartbeat. It is, of course, the icon for the nefarious Abstergo Industries, the multinational corporate conglomerate that stands as the beating heart of the Templar Order.
Walking for the very first time inside of Abstergo was an amazing experience! Picture from set! #assassinscreedmovie pic.twitter.com/QhTmnwbOxV
— Azaïzia Aymar (@AymarMtl) October 13, 2015
Featuring the same creative dream team the formed the spine of this year’s critically-adorned Macbeth, Ubisoft’s high-profile feature will be helmed by Snowtown director Justin Kurzel, reuniting with the familiar faces of Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender. It’s the latter star who will lead Assassin’s Creed as Callum Lynch, a character unconnected to the video game lore but one that still possess the power to revisit seminal memory segments via the Animus device.
In fact, Fassbender’s involvement in the project extends beyond simply starring in the film, with the X-Men alum set to produce Assassin’s Creed as well. As for the general tone of the final feature, CEO of Ubisoft’s Motion Pictures division likened it to both Batman Begins with a dollop of Blade Runner.
“We have a huge brand and we want to make a make a film with references to feature films like Batman Begins and Blade Runner. He was promised that he could work with the writers, we would associate it with all key creative choices.”
After scouting out the surrounding Christmas corridor with Eagle Vision, Ubisoft has ear-marked Assassin’s Creed for a release on December 21, 2016. Brendan Gleeson and Jeremy Irons will also star in the adaptation.