Assassin's Creed (film)

Assassin's Creed

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Justin Kurzel
Produced by
Screenplay by
  • Michael Lesslie
  • Adam Cooper
  • Bill Collage
Based on Assassin's Creed
by Ubisoft
Starring
Music by Jed Kurzel
Cinematography Adam Arkapaw
Edited by Christopher Tellefsen
Production
company
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • December 21, 2016 (2016-12-21) (United States)
Running time
 115 minutes[1]
Country
  • United States
  • France
Language
  • English
  • Spanish[2]
Budget $130-200 million[3][4]

Assassin's Creed is an upcoming action adventure film based on the video game franchise of the same name The film is directed by Justin Kurzel, written by Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, and stars Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson and Michael K. Williams.

The film will be set in the same universe as the video games but features an original story that expands the series' mythology. Filming began in late August 2015 and concluded in January 2016. Assassin's Creed is scheduled to be released on December 21, 2016 in France and in the United States.

Premise

Career criminal Callum Lynch is rescued from his own execution by Abstergo Industries, the modern-day incarnation of the Templar Order. He is forced to participate in the Animus Project and relive the memories of his ancestor Aguilar de Nerha, an Assassin in the time of the Spanish Inquisition. As Lynch continues to experience Aguilar's memories, he begins to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to confront the Templars—age-old enemies of the Assassins—in the present day.[5]

Cast

Original characters created for the film, Lynch is a descendant of Aguilar de Nerha, an Assassin alive and operating in 15th century Spain.[6][5] Fassbender described Callum by saying "He doesn’t have a lineage he can feel a belonging to... he's a bit of a lost soul. He’s always been drifting in and out of correctional facilities," and conversely described Aguilar as "very much somebody that belongs to the Creed. He has a cause, he’s sort of been following that cause. He belongs to it."[7]
A visionary CEO of Abstergo Industries and, particularly, his private Madrid-based organization Abstergo Foundation dedicated to the "perfection" of humankind,[12] and the father of Sophia.[9][10][11] The character previously appeared in the first Assassin's Creed game.[13]
Moussa is a descendant of Baptiste, a Haitian Assassin who uses voodoo poison against his enemies.[15][7] Williams said, "Moussa definitely has some assassin skills. Although I think he prefers to use trickery and magic and voodoo to slay his opponents as opposed to just hand-to-hand combat, but if it needed to be he could take it to the mat."[7] Baptiste previously appeared in Assassin's Creed: Liberation.[16]

Additionally, Ariane Labed portrays Maria, an assassin in 15th century Spain with Aguilar,[17][10] and Matias Varela appears as both Emir and his ancestor, Yusuf.[7] Michelle Lin portrays Lin, a descendant of an assassin, and another test subject at Abstergo, while James Sobol Kelly appears as Father Raymond, a priest.[14] Denis Ménochet also appears as the head of Abstergo security,[18]

Production

Development

"You know, we absolutely want to respect the game. There's so much cool stuff in the game that we're actually spoiled for choice in terms of what we can use and what we can't, but we also want to bring new elements to it and perhaps our own version of things that already exist in the game. But we're definitely making a feature film, and we're approaching it as a feature film, as opposed to approaching it as a video game. But I love the world... When I met up with the guys from Ubisoft and they started to explain this whole world and the idea of D.N.A memory – you know, I think it's a very feasible scientific theory. I just thought, 'This is so rich,' and about the possibility of it being this cinematic experience. So I'm really excited about it, and we're working very hard to make sure that we've got the best and most exciting, original package."

—Michael Fassbender, star and producer of the film, on how much of the film would remain faithful to the game and how much would be an original story.[19]

By October 2011, Sony Pictures was in final negotiations with Ubisoft Motion Pictures to make a film version of Assassin's Creed,[20] to be released in 3D.[21] In July 2012, Michael Fassbender was announced to star in the film, as well as co-produce the film through his DMC Film banner with Conor McCaughan.[6] Jean-Julien Baronnet, CEO Ubisoft Motion Pictures, said Fassbender was the studio's first choice to star in the film. As well, negotiations between Sony Pictures and Ubisoft Motion Pictures was put on hold, with Ubisoft executives planning to develop the film independently in order to maintain greater creative control. Sony could still distribute the film, but Ubisoft Motion Pictures would not resume talks until packaging the project with a writer and director.[22] In October, Ubisoft revealed the film would be co-produced with New Regency and distributed by 20th Century Fox. New Regency financed part of the film's production, in order for Ubisoft to not shoulder much financial risk, yet still be involved creatively;[23] RatPac Entertainment and Alpha Pictures also co-financing the film.[17] Baronnet also revealed Ubisoft hoped to release the film along with a new game launch for the series.[23]

In January 2013, Michael Lesslie was hired to write the film.[24] In June 2013, Frank Marshall entered negotiations to produce the film, along with Fassbender and McCaughan for DMC Film and Eli Richbourg for Ubisoft.[25] In July, Scott Frank revealed he was rewriting the script.[26] In January 2014, a Linkedin profile for executive producer Fannie Pailloux stated filming was scheduled to begin in August 2014.[27] In April 2014, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage were hired to rewrite the script.[28] By the end of April, Justin Kurzel was in talks to direct.[29] In June, Olivia Munn expressed interest in appearing in the film.[30]

Pre-production

On February 12, 2015, Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that New Regency had begun production on the film.[31] The following day, Marion Cotillard was revealed to have joined the cast, and that filming was expected to begin in late 2015.[8] In April 2015, Fassbender revealed that filming is scheduled to begin in September 2015.[32] In May 2015, Alicia Vikander was in talks to star in the film,[33] though in the following month, she took a role in the fifth Bourne film Jason Bourne instead,[34] leading Ariane Labed to be cast in her place.[17] Producers on the film include Baronnet, Patrick Crowley, Fassbender, Marshall, Conor McCaughan and Arnon Milchan.[17] In July 2015, Michael K. Williams was added to the cast.[15] In late August 2015, Fassbender's role was revealed as Callum Lynch in the present day and Aguilar in 15th Century Spain, as well as filming locations for the film.[5]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on August 31, 2015, with filming taking place in Malta, London, Spain and the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios.[5][35][36][37] Adam Arkapaw serves as cinematographer, while Andy Nicholson acts as production designer.[38] In October 2015, Jeremy Irons and Brendan Gleeson joined the cast.[9] In December 2015, shooting took place in Spain,[39] and Irons' role was revealed to be Alan Rikkin.[12] Principal filming ended on January 15, 2016,[40] with further filming taking place in Ely Cathedral in July.[41]

Music

In May 2016, it was announced that Jed Kurzel, the brother of director Justin Kurzel, would score the film.[42]

Connections to the video games

Aymar Azaïzia, head of Assassin's Creed content at Ubisoft, stated that the film, which is "a brand new story, [with] new characters set in our universe," had the possibility to feature "some familiar faces" and that the present day element would feature Abstergo.[43] Fassbender said, "We really want to respect the game[s] and the elements to it. But we also wanted to come up with our own thing. And one thing I’ve sort of learned from doing the franchises like X-Men is that audiences, I think, want to be surprised and to see new elements of what they already know, and different takes on it."[7] The Animus, the machine used to experience ancestors' memories, was redesigned for the film, from a chair to a machine that lifts the user in the air, to allow for a more modern, interactive and dramatic experience. Fassbender also noted the change was done to avoid comparisons to The Matrix.[44] The Abstergo compound in the film features an artifact room that holds specific weapons from the games beyond the traditional Assassin wrist blades, including: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's sword (Assassin's Creed);[7] Connor/Ratonhnhaké:ton's bow (Assassin's Creed III);[37] Edward Kenway's flintlock pistols (Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag); and Jacob Frye's cane sword (Assassin's Creed Syndicate). Fassbender also stated that Ubisoft was "very keen" about elements being created for the film and were considering incorporating them into future games.[7]

The film also features the games' signature "Leap of Faith" jump, performed by Fassbender's stunt double, Damien Walters, rather than a digital double, as the production team wanted to make many of the elements in the film as "real" as possible, without the use of visual effects. The 125 feet freefall was described as "one of the highest freefalls performed by a stuntman in almost 35 years".[45]

Release

Assassin's Creed is scheduled to be released on December 21, 2016.[46] The film was originally announced in May 2013 to be released on May 22, 2015,[47] which was later pushed back the following month to June 19, 2015.[48] In November 2013, the film was pushed back once again to a new release date of August 7, 2015.[49] In September 2014, the film was pushed to an unspecified 2016 release date,[50] which was revealed to be December 21, 2016 in January 2015.[46]

Potential sequels

In March 2016, Daphne Yang, CEO of the film's Taiwanese co-financier CatchPlay, stated that New Regency was looking to turn the film into a franchise, since it is based on "successful Ubisoft games and would make ideal sequels."[51] Two additional films are planned, with the first sequel entering development during the production of the initial film.[52]

References

  1. ↑ "AMC Theatres: Assassin's Creed". AMC Theatres. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Assassin's Creed movie's historical sequences are all in Spanish".
  3. ↑ "Assassin's Creed movie: "modelled on Batman Begins or Blade Runner"". Den of Geek.
  4. ↑ Wrap Staff. "11 Biggest Fall Movie Gambles, From 'Doctor Strange' to 'Assassin's Creed'". The Wrap.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Doty, Meriah (August 27, 2015). "'Assassin's Creed' First Look: Here's Michael Fassbender as Brand New Character (Exclusive)". Yahoo. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Wigler, Josh (July 9, 2012). "Michael Fassbender To Star In 'Assassin's Creed'". MTV. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Perry, Spencer (May 11, 2016). "ComingSoon.net Visits the Set of Assassin's Creed!". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Fleming Jr., Mike (February 13, 2015). "Marion Cotillard To Star With Michael Fassbender In 'Assassin's Creed' For New Regency & Ubisoft". Deadline. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Busch, Anita (October 1, 2015). "Jeremy Irons & Brendan Gleeson Join 'Assassin's Creed'". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 Skrebels, Joe (May 10, 2016). "NEW ASSASSIN'S CREED MOVIE PHOTOS EMERGE". IGN. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Jordan, Farley. "Under the Hood". Total Film (Summer 2016).
  12. 1 2 Dornbush, Jonathon (December 22, 2015). "Hear from Jeremy Irons as Abstergo Industries' CEO in new Assassin's Creed tease". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  13. ↑ Sullivan, Kevin P. (August 12, 2016). "Assassin's Creed movie to feature characters from video game series — exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  14. 1 2 Reparaz, Mikel (October 20, 2016). "ASSASSIN'S CREED MOVIE – WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED IN TRAILER 2". Ubiblog. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Kroll, Justin (July 6, 2015). "Michael K. Williams Lands Key Roles in 'Assassin's Creed,' 'Ghostbusters' (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  16. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (July 9, 2016). "'Assassin's Creed': Michael K. Williams on Playing a Voodoo Assassin, Franchise Potential, and More". Collider.com. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Jaafar, Ali (June 24, 2015). "Ariane Labed Joins Cast of 'Assassin's Creed' Opposite Michael Fassbender". deadline.com. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  18. ↑ Casey, Dan (May 13, 2016). "12 THINGS WE LEARNED ON THE ASSASSIN'S CREED SET". Nerdist. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ Cornet, Roth (August 8, 2014). "Michael Fassbender Wants To Honor The Game & Bring In Original Elements On The Assassin's Creed Movie". IGN. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  20. ↑ Graser, Marc (October 20, 2011). "Sony breeds 'Creed'". Variety. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  21. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa; Hopewell, John (May 15, 2011). "Gallic vidgamer Ubisoft lines up 3 features". Variety. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  22. ↑ Graser, Marc; Keslassy, Elsa (July 9, 2012). "Fassbender game for 'Assassin's Creed'". Variety. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  23. 1 2 Graser, Marc (October 22, 2012). "New Regency, Fox partner on Ubisoft's 'Assassin's Creed'". Variety. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  24. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (January 14, 2013). "New Regency and Ubisoft Tap Brit Writer for 'Assassin's Creed' Film (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  25. ↑ Kit, Borys (June 11, 2013). "Frank Marshall to Produce 'Assassin's Creed' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  26. ↑ Vejvoda, Jim (August 16, 2013). "Scott Frank Rewriting Assassin's Creed Movie". IGN. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  27. ↑ Mahardy, Mike (January 25, 2014). "Assassin's Creed Movie To Begin Shooting In August, Exec Says". IGN. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  28. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (April 7, 2014). "'Exodus' Scribes Adam Cooper & Bill Collage Take 'Assassin's Creed'". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  29. ↑ Fleming, Jr., Mike (April 29, 2014). "Michael Fassbender Poised To Re-Team With 'Macbeth' Helmer On 'Assassin's Creed'". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  30. ↑ Olivia Munn Wants to be in Assassin's Creed Movie. IGN. June 26, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  31. ↑ Tach, Dave (February 12, 2015). "Assassin's Creed movie is in production and has a confirmed 2016 release date". polygon.com. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  32. ↑ Douglas, Edward (April 30, 2015). "Exclusive: Michael Fassbender on Developing Assassin's Creed". comingsoon.net. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  33. ↑ Fleming, Jr, Mike; Jaafar, Ali (May 22, 2015). "Hot Cannes 'Circle' Package Imperiled As Alicia Vikander In Talks To Star In 'Assassin's Creed', New 'Bourne' Film". Deadline. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  34. ↑ Jaafar, Ali (June 23, 2015). "Alicia Vikander Confirmed For Bourne Sequel Opposite Matt Damon". deadline.com. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Big screen adaptation of Assassin's Creed starts shooting in Malta". timesofmalta.com. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  36. ↑ Lee, Chris (December 9, 2015). "Michael Fassbender was playing the hero in Assassin's Creed when he nabbed a SAG Award nomination". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  37. 1 2 Chitwood, Adam (May 11, 2016). "'Assassin's Creed': 35 Things to Know about the Ambitious Video Game Adaptation". Collider.com. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  38. ↑ Schaefer, Sandy (September 11, 2015). "Assassin's Creed Movie Has Started Filming In Malta". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  39. ↑ Jayson, Jay (December 13, 2015). "First Look At Michael Fassbender On The Set Of Assassin's Creed". Comicbook.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  40. ↑ Jayson, Jay (January 15, 2016). "Assassin's Creed Movie Starring Michael Fassbender Wraps Filming". Comic Book.
  41. ↑ http://www.wisbechstandard.co.uk/news/hollywood_comes_to_ely_as_cathedral_closes_for_filming_of_assassin_s_creed_movie_starring_michael_fassbender_and_marion_cotillard_1_4631932
  42. ↑ "Jed Kurzel to Score 'Assassin's Creed' Film Adaptation". Film Music Reporter. May 1, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  43. ↑ Osborn, Alex (August 28, 2015). "ASSASSIN'S CREED MOVIE FEATURES SHARED UNIVERSE WITH GAMES". IGN. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  44. ↑ Shaw-Williams, H. (May 11, 2016). "Assassin's Creed: Michael Fassbender Explains Animus Redesign". Screen Rant. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  45. ↑ Loughrey, Clarisse (August 16, 2016). "Assassin's Creed: Watch stuntman make 125 feet 'Leap of Faith'". The Independent. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  46. 1 2 Tom Phillips (January 6, 2015). "Assassin's Creed film now due Christmas 2016". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  47. ↑ Vejvoda, Jim (May 17, 2013). "Assassin's Creed Movie Slated for 2015 Release". IGN. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  48. ↑ Nicholson, Matt (June 21, 2013). "Fox Shuffles X-Men, Apes and Assassin's Creed". IGN. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  49. ↑ Collura, Scott (November 12, 2013). "Fantastic Four Reboot, The Secret Service Release Date Changes". IGN. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  50. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (September 18, 2014). "'X-Men' Spin-Off 'Deadpool' Gets Winter 2016 Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  51. ↑ Frater, Patrick (March 22, 2016). "'Assassin's Creed,' 'Splinter Cell' Being Eyed for Sequels". Variety. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  52. ↑ Schwartz, Terri (May 14, 2016). "ASSASSIN'S CREED MOVIE CREATORS WANT TO PROVE TO FANS THEY UNDERSTAND THE GAME". IGN. Retrieved May 15, 2016.

External links

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