Hopes were high when the film adaptation of the popular Assassin’s Creed video game series was announced. The finished film, however, was a complete flop.
Thanks to The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. movie, video game adaptations are back in high demand in Hollywood. Both projects were very successful and made many fans happy. However, if we take a look at the past, the story is often very different for video game adaptations.
Not infrequently, financial flop and disappointed fans go hand in hand. One of the best examples is Assassin’s Creed. The hotly anticipated adaptation of the sci-fi series of the same name failed at the box office and was not well received by critics or audiences. Yet everything looked very promising at the beginning.
Sci-fi flop at Disney+: Everything about Assassin’s Creed seemed perfect until the finished film hit theaters
At the centre of the story is Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender), condemned to death, who is brought to Madrid by the shady company Abstergo Industries. Under the supervision of cool scientist Sophia Rikkin (Marion Cotillard), he is to relive the genetic memories of his ancestors using advanced technology, which takes him back in time.
Here you can watch the trailer for Assassin’s Creed:
Once Callum is hooked up to the computer, he can walk around 15th century Spain. However, he is not there to happily pass the time. He is there to track down the Apple of Eden to control people’s free will. Before he knows it, he finds himself in the middle of a warlike conflict that has been going on for several centuries. Either he plays along or he breaks the rules.
The Assassin’s Creed adaptation caused a stir at the time because of its choice of director. Justin Kurzel had shortly before delivered the Shakespeare adaptation Macbeth, which impressed with incredible visual power and gave a new twist to a familiar story. What’s more, he brought along his two Macbeth stars: Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) and Marion Cotillard (Inception).
Despite this very good premise, nothing worked out in the end. Assassin’s Creed was supposed to start a trilogy, but never got beyond the first part. Soon Netflix wants to launch the video game brand as a series. But there are problems here too: After the Assassin’s Creed real series was announced in October 2020, showrunner Jeb Stuart dropped out of the project earlier this year.
