How Netflix Plans to Reboot Assassin’s Creed for a New Medium

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed is one of gaming’s longest-running series, so it only makes sense that the “stealth-action” video game franchise has been considered for film and television projects for years. The most recent development in that saga? Netflix has finally greenlit a live-action Assassin’s Creed TV series after years of unconfirmed development and uncertainty.

The series will be helmed by Roberto Patino and David Wiener, both of whom Netflix has just confirmed as showrunners on the project. Patino is a writer on shows including Sons of Anarchy (FX) and Westworld (HBO), while Wiener has served as a showrunner and writer on AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead and, most recently, the Paramount+ adaptation of Halo.

Patino and Wiener gave the official update on the series and gave a joint statement on their intentions.

“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,” the showrunners said. “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, transcending cultures and time. And it’s about what we stand to lose as a species when those connections break.”

Patino and Wiener concluded that they are hard at work with Ubisoft and Netflix on bringing an “undeniable” show to fans all over the world, “grounded in history, steeped in myth, fueled by spectacle and ultimately driven by character.” They also praised the talent they’ve got on board as “amazing” and excited to begin production.

Assassin’s Creed: A Quick Look Back

Assassin’s Creed was initially a “social stealth” action game released in 2007 and set during the time of the Crusades. However, it was the later Renaissance Italy games in the series—Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations—that were its most beloved and successful, in large part thanks to the characterization of Ezio Auditore. These games are generally the games that come to fans’ minds when someone says “Assassin’s Creed,” even though much has happened since 2009.

In the 18 years since, Assassin’s Creed has launched 14 major entries into the series, which have moved away from the stealth-based gameplay and shifted more to an open-world RPG approach. The locations for the entries have spanned a wide variety of historical events and settings, including the American Revolution, the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy, Revolutionary Paris, Victorian-era London, Ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, Viking-era Britain, and even, in the most recent game, Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age.

The latest game in the series, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, finally sees the long-awaited arrival of a Japanese setting for the series and has been generally well-received by critics and audiences alike. One reason given for the game’s success has been Ubisoft’s decision to delay it to make sure it was of a higher quality. It’s one of many quality issues in a sprawling series, and it remains to be seen if Netflix will make similar choices with its upcoming adaptation.

What We Know About the Series (So Far)

The big difference between the games and the show is that we know very little about the latter. But one throughline will likely be the Assassin’s ongoing hidden war with the Templars for the future of mankind. The Animus is a technology that lets modern-day Assassins plug in and relive their ancestors’ memories, often finding themselves in crucial moments in world history.

Fans of the games don’t know much about casting or plot just yet, but it’s a safe bet the series will tell a new story, like the 2016 Michael Fassbender movie did (or at least a prequel that doesn’t have to do with that film’s story). This is in part because Netflix seems to want to take a different tack with its Assassin’s Creed than the film did. There, Fassbender’s character went back into the mind of Desmond Miles, who was featured in the earlier games and has also been featured in tie-in books. Netflix’s series will feature a different main character.

The film, which was generally received well but didn’t draw huge crowds, has no confirmed connection to the series yet, but even if it does, that’s no guarantee. Netflix’s show is probably best thought of as an alternate interpretation of the game world and characters rather than a canon continuation of it.

No release date has been announced for Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed series. It remains in early development, so Netflix and Ubisoft are still likely working on the budget, pre-production, and other important early details. As a result, it’s unlikely a premiere date will be announced until at least this year or next.