Michael Fassbenderhas been attached to star in the highly-anticipated video game adaptationAssassin’s Creedsince July 2012, but it wasn’t until this February that Ubisoft and New Regency officially gave the green light for production to begin. Pre-production is already under way, and shortly after the green light was given,Marion Cotillardsigned on to play the female lead, although no details about her character were confirmed. While promoting his upcoming dramaSlow West, in theaters May 15,Michael Fassbenderspoke aboutAssassin’s Creed’s lengthy development process, revealing that production will begin this September.
“You say it’s a long time but what I’ve found-it’s all new to me but starting to develop scripts and work on them, they take time. It just takes time to get a good story together and we really want to do it right. It’s exciting. It’s going to start this year, we’ll be filming in September.”
There have been several differentAssassin’s Creedvideo games since the initial game first launched, and it has never been confirmed if the adaptation is based on one specific game or not.Michael Fassbendertalked about the challenges of finding the right story for this adaptation.
“That’s always the challenge of something that’s so dense, to really find something and pare it down and basically, there are so many elements to it, so trying to translate that to an audience, you have to pick key things. So yes, that is part of it, getting through the density of it and paring down and engaging a simple story.”
A report surfaced in August that revealedMichael Fassbenderis actually playing dual characters inAssassin’s Creed, one in present day, a Death Row inmate named Michael Lynch, and an assassin named Aguilar de Agarorobo during the Spanish Inquisition. While these details were never confirmed, it’s possible he could be playing another character from the game, a Boston bartender named Desmond Miles, but he wouldn’t confirm exactly who he is playing quite yet.
“You don’t know that. Don’t listen to what they tell you, that’s the first rule.”
With production starting in just a few months, hopefully we’ll learn more about who bothMichael FassbenderandMarion Cotillardare playing.Justin Kurzel, who directedMichael Fassbenderin the upcomingMacbeth, is taking the helm forAssassin’s Creed. Stay tuned for more details on this video game adaptation as we get closer to production getting under way.
