Assassin's Creed (film)

Assassin's Creed series logo.

The Assassin's Creed film is an upcoming, feature-length motion picture, based on the award-winning series of the same name, being developed by Ubisoft Motion Pictures for a planned 2014 release.

Development

The terms and conditions surrounding the original agreement between Ubisoft and Sony Entertainment, the film's planned distributor, have been described by Hollywood insiders as "unheard of", with Ubisoft getting the final say on budget, principal cast, script, release date and more. One individual even went so far as to say that "The whole Ubisoft/Sony deal is a waste of ink, paper and time. The level of control Sony gave up means, effectively, that Assassin’s Creed will never – and I mean never – get made."

The level of control being afforded to Ubisoft has divided critics of both games and films, with many noting that while Hollywood insiders consider Sony's move to have killed the film before it's 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.

In support of this, the studio's senior Vice President of International Marketing, Jean de Rivieres, claims that the film will "reflect the brands accurately and consolidate our fan base." The film has also being confirmed as being shot in 3D.

Michael Fassbender will both produce and star in the film. Critics have speculated that Fassbender will be portraying series-lead, Desmond Miles, though this has neither been confirmed, or denied.

On October 22, 2012 it was announced that Ubisoft Motion Pictures had chosen to develop the film in close collaboration with New Regency, because "they are 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 is beginning immediately and the project is being fast tracked as the creative pieces come together, while allowing Ubisoft to maintain control of key elements of the movie’s creative direction. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Ubisoft also changed their distributor from Sony Entertainment to 20th Century Fox, though the reasons for this have not been made known.