Assassin's Creed (film)

Assassin's Creed (marketed as Assassin's Creed: The Movie) is an upcoming action-adventure film based on the award-winning series of the same name. It is produced by and stars Michael Fassbender as Aguilar, a 15th century Spanish Assassin, and his present day descendant Callum Lynch.

Directed by Justin Kurzel and produced by Ubisoft Motion Pictures and Frank Marshall, the film will be distributed by 20th Century Fox for a planned 21 December 2016 release date.

Synopsis
Callum Lynch discovers he is 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.

Cast

 * Michael Fassbender as Aguilar and Callum Lynch
 * Marion Cotillard as the son of Alan Rikkin
 * Michael K. Williams
 * Jeremy Irons as Alan Rikkin, the father of Marion Cotillard's character
 * Brendan Gleeson as Callum Lynch's father
 * Matias Varela
 * Ariane Labed
 * Carlos Bardem
 * Denis Ménochet
 * Hovik Keuchkerian
 * Javier Gutiérrez

Development
Ubisoft began development of the film in May 2011, where it was confirmed for a 3D release. 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.

The level of control being afforded to Ubisoft 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 considered the move to be beneficial to the franchise's future, as in recent years, game adaptations had tended to be of poor quality. 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."

Michael Fassbender came aboard to star and produce a year later. He explained "I met up with the guys from Ubisoft and they told me the story behind it, and I thought it was very interesting — the idea of reliving memories."

On 22 October 2012, 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. Ubisoft also changed their distributor from Sony Entertainment to 20th Century Fox, though the reason for this has not been made known.

Ubisoft hired English writer Michael Lesslie to pen the script for the movie, and Conor McCaughan to help Fassbender produce the film. In 2013, screenwriter Scott Frank (Minority Report, The Wolverine) was rewriting the script. Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, who wrote the original draft of Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings, were assigned to rewrite the script the following year.

In April 2014, it was reported Fassbender was looking to reteam with director Justin Kurzel, with whom he collaborated on the upcoming film version of . In August, Fassbender confirmed Kurzel was attached to the project, as was his cinematographer Adam Arkapaw.

In February 2015, it was announced that the film had entered production. Costume designer Sammy Sheldon Differ said, "I have much respect for the historical accuracy and vast characterization represented in each game. This has been a fantastic starting point to understand what is needed to be faithful to the artistic content and begin creating our film world. Bearing in mind this rich base, I have used our period of 15th century Spain, with its strong influences of Moorish deco, to give the Assassin's looks a nomadic warrior personification." Filming will start 31 August 2015 and will take place in London, Spain and Malta. The movie has also been confirmed to be set within the same universe as the franchise's other media.

Marketing
On 21 December, 2015, Ubisoft tweeted a photo of Abstergo Industries CEO Alan Rikkin's business card. Fans emailing the address or calling the numbers on the card would receive a response: the voicemail was voiced by Jeremy Irons.