Assassin’s Creed: Live-Action Adaptations Ranked (So Far)

Popular video game series Assassin’s Creed, owned by Ubisoft, will finally become an onscreen television series for the first time as a new live-action adaptation has been greenlit by Netflix.

Multiple sources have confirmed that the series has finally been given the go-ahead by Netflix and will be based on Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series of games.

No direct information has been released yet by Netflix, but Ubisoft has confirmed that the series is “on the right track,” and a casting search for the show has already begun with actors and actresses vying to land a role in the hit series. Both Netflix and Ubisoft have stated that they plan to release an official trailer for the series later this year.

Netflix Has Named Writers and Showrunners

As part of the effort to get the series up and running, Netflix has appointed two showrunners for the series: Roberto Patino and David Wiener.

Patino is a veteran of series writing, with experience on FX’s Sons of Anarchy and HBO’s Westworld. Wiener, meanwhile, led the development of the Paramount+ Halo series, in addition to working as a showrunner for AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead.

Together, Wiener and Patino have released a statement expressing their excitement and love for Assassin’s Creed, as well as their desire to make it a great show.

“We’ve been fans of Assassin’s Creed since its release in 2007. Every day we work on this show, we come away excited and humbled by the possibilities that Assassin’s Creed opens to us,” they said in a statement.

“Beneath the scope, the spectacle, the parkour and the thrills is a baseline for the most essential kind of human story—about people searching for purpose, struggling with questions of identity and destiny and faith. It is about power and violence and sex and greed and vengeance. But more than anything, this is a show about the value of human connection, across cultures, across time. And it’s about what we stand to lose as a species when those connections break.”

Patino and Wiener continued in their statement that they will be working closely with Ubisoft and Netflix to make the best show possible and be a part of an “undeniable fan favorite all over the planet.”

A Show Inspired by a Beloved Franchise

Assassin’s Creed has been a popular game franchise for many years, spawning multiple games over the last 18 years with Ubisoft as its main producer.

Assassin’s Creed was released first as a “social stealth” action game in 2007, and quickly became one of the most recognizable and impactful game series of all time, with the Renaissance Italy trilogy of Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations as the one often referenced as the true game changer. These titles helped make Assassin’s Creed a household name with Ezio Auditore as its main protagonist. It blended historical knowledge, philosophical thought, and rousing action into one tasty package for the gaming crowd.

Since its launch, Assassin’s Creed has featured 14 mainline games in 18 years, shifting from its stealth-based gameplay to open-world RPGs. The settings have shifted too, taking in the American Revolution, the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean, Revolutionary Paris and Victorian London, Ancient Egypt and Classical Greece, Viking-era Britain, and most recently the Islamic Golden Age of Baghdad.

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, the most recent game from Ubisoft, has proven the franchise is still here to stay, delivering better than most recent RPG-style Assassin’s Creeds. A big part of this was its return to one of the most asked for Assassin’s Creed game settings: feudal Japan. It also benefited from Ubisoft’s choice to delay the game for a year to improve its quality. It remains to be seen if Netflix can do the same with the show and take its time to make it right.

Story Details on the Show Have Been Released (Little as There Is)

Right now, not a lot is known about the series or where it’s going, other than it will follow the main lore of the game. As for the story, we know that the show is expected to follow the same central narrative of the games, which is the centuries-old secret war between the Assassins and Templars, two groups locked in a fight over the future of mankind.

The Animus will still be key to the story, with the main protagonists in the present day reliving the memories of their ancestors, which usually puts the characters in various historical settings across the world.

We still do not know who will be cast in the lead roles or more details of the story, though fans are already making guesses as to whether the show will follow the games or go its way in terms of characters. We know that the one Assassin’s Creed feature film, 2016’s The Last Stand, which starred Michael Fassbender, chose a different path from the games, so the show may do the same. If so, it will have the same pull with players, since The Last Stand was a mild success but had mixed reviews.

Assassin’s Creed is unlikely to acknowledge the film at all. But the biggest piece of good news for fans is that Netflix is coming in at a good time. Streaming is always hungry for big, lore-heavy stories, and players are always up for big-budget game adaptations, no matter how they turn out. Plus, Assassin’s Creed has a ready-made, built-in global fanbase just from being a household name for years now. With two showrunners who seem passionate and know their craft, and an in-demand brand and playground to work with, now is a perfect time for Assassin’s Creed to enter the world of television.

Massive Investment for Netflix

Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed bet isn’t a one-off, though, as both gaming and game-inspired features and shows are coming to more and more screens in recent years. HBO’s The Last of Us rebooted the game-to-screen process and set a new standard for how close and emotionally invested adaptations could be while being successful. Netflix has seen its successes, though some controversial, with The Witcher.

It’s too soon to say whether Assassin’s Creed will come close to meeting those series in terms of both acclaim and streaming numbers. But the pieces are in place for something special: Netflix has a big-league player in game properties with years of relevant content to back it up.

We can only wait for more news on Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed series, as we learn more about casting, the filming, and the creative process. If all goes as it should, Assassin’s Creed could be the next big fantasy-historical epic for the streaming world.