The Assassin's Creed film is an upcoming, feature-length motion picture, based on the award-winning series of the same name, being produced by Ubisoft Motion Pictures and distributed by 20th Century Fox for a planned release of 22 May 2015.^[1]

Cast and crew

Michael Fassbender will both produce and star in the film. Critics have speculated that Fassbender will be portraying series-lead, Desmond Miles,^[2] though this has neither been confirmed nor denied.^[3]

Ubisoft have also hired English writer Michael Lesslie to pen the script for the movie, and have brought Conor McCaughan to help Fassbender produce the film.^[4]

Development

Ubisoft began development of the film in May 2011, where it was confirmed for a 3D release.^[5] Later that year, Ubisoft was reaching a deal with Sony Entertainment to distribute the film. The terms and conditions surrounding the agreement were described by Hollywood insiders as "unheard of", with Ubisoft getting the final say on budget, principal cast, script, release date and more.^[6]

The level of control being afforded to Ubisoft has divided critics of both games and films, with many noting that while Hollywood insiders considered Sony's move to have killed the film before it had even begun, gamers consider the move to be beneficial to the franchise's future, as in recent years, game adaptations have tended to be of poor quality.^[6] Senior Vice President of International Marketing, Jean de Rivieres, echoed this sentiment, and claimed that the film will "reflect the brands accurately and consolidate our fan base."^[5]

On October 22, 2012, a few months after Fassbender signed to produce and star in the film, it was announced that Ubisoft Motion Pictures had chosen to develop the film in close collaboration with New Regency, because they were "a talent and filmmaker-driven company, with the same independent and creative mindset that we have at Ubisoft Motion Pictures." The development of a screenplay began immediately, and the project was fast tracked, while still allowing Ubisoft to maintain control of key elements of the film's creative direction.^[7]

Ubisoft also changed their distributor from Sony Entertainment to 20th Century Fox, though the reason for this has not been made known.^[8]

References