Assassin’s Creed was a weak adaptation of the smash-hit video game series that is currently trending on Max, reminding me of all that film’s squandered potential. Based on the Ubisoft games of the same, name, Assassin’s Creed was the second collaboration between Director Justin Kurzel and Michael Fassbender. Fassbender stars in Assassin’s Creed as both convicted murderer Callum “Cal” Lynch and his late 15th century ancestor Aguilar de Nerha, with the film’s narrative shifting between the two characters after they’re tethered by the Abstergo Foundation. Using advanced technology to make Cal relive Aguilar’s life, they hope to learn more about the mysterious Assassin Brotherhood and the artifact known as the Apple of Eden.
Despite the popularity of the source material and the talent of the cast and crew, Assassin’s Creed became one of the biggest box office duds of 2016. Although the movie might be trending on Max now, there was a time almost a decade ago where Assassin’s Creed was seen as a potential cinematic franchisie. That potential is still there, even if the initial plans for more films in the series were scuttled by the poor reception to the first film. Here’s why Assassin Creed still has potential on the big screen, despite the 2016 dud.
Assassin’s Creed Is Now Trending On Max, 9 Years After The Movie First Released
Assassin’s Creed Was One Of The Biggest Duds Of 2016
Assassin’s Creed is trending on Max, despite being a critical and commercial dud when it was released nine years ago. Taking inspiration from the video game series of the same name instead of directly adapting any single title from the franchise, Assassin’s Creed was a big swing from 20th Century Fox that ultimately didn’t connect with audiences in the way the studio was clearly hoping for. The game adaptation hit theaters in December of 2016.
Despite boasting an impressive cast that included Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams, Assassin’s Creed ended up beng considered a box office disappointment. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter at the time, Assassin’s Creed was initially expected to earn upwards of $35 million in the first six days of its theatrical release. Instead, it only earned $22.5 million and finished fifth at the box office. Although it made $240 million worldwide against a budget of $125 million, the accompanying advertising costs made it difficult for the film to break even.
Assassin’s Creed Poor Reception Ended Any Chance At A Movie Franchise
Assassin’s Creed Had Two Potential Sequels That Never Came To Be
When the rights went over to Disney, all planned sequels were canceled due to the initial movie’s disappointing performance and reviews. Although it was considered by some as an improvement over other maligned video game adaptations of the time, Assassin’s Creed was met with harsh reviews when it premiered in 2016. The film currently has a 19% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many critics bemoaning the over-reliance on CGI and needlessly complex plot. Coupled with the tepid response from the movie going public, any hopes for a larger franchise based on the video game series was stunted.
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Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Score For Assassin’s Creed |
19% |
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Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter For Assassin’s Creed |
42% |
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Metacritc Score For Assassin’s Creed |
36/100 |
Although a sequel to Assassin’s Creed went into development after the first film, plans for the follow-up never came to fruition. The cinematic rights to the franchise went to Disney as a result of their acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s assets in 2019, with the studio seemingly having little interest in continuing the property. Two potential Assassin’s Creed sequels were among the casualties of that business deal, with Disney deciding to drop plans for continuing the series. Since then, Assassin’s Creed has wallowed as a videogame series whose true cinematic potential hasn’t been fully tapped.
The Assassin’s Creed Games Could Have Been Turned Into An Awesome Movie Franchise
The Assassin’s Creed Games Could Inspire A Lot Of Great Movies
The biggest disappointment with the Assassin’s Creed movie is the way it damaged interest in adapting the Ubisoft series, because that world and design is perfect fodder for a really cool action franchise. The Assassin’s Creed games have their own sprawling overarching narrative focusing on the external war between the Assassins and the Templars. However, that element of the game isn’t the main thing fans love about the series. Too much focus on that storyline was one of 2016’s Assassin’s Creed‘s biggest mistakes. The main draw of the series is the intense action and period settings.
The games have a rich cast of interconnected characters spread out across major civilizations in human history. Bonded by either blood or code, Assassin’s Creed has the natural potential of a possibly endless stories. Each film could tell the story of another character in the historical chain that is the Assassin Brotherhood, allowing for a rotating cast and creative team to take the reigns of different stories. The self-contained nature of the stories could allow each film in the series to stand out on their own, all while steadily developing an overarching universe and conflict.
Characters like Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Edward Kenway could easily carry their own multi-film storylines, while leaving room for invention and fresh approaches. A film series could focus on plenty of characters from across different historical settings, bringing in plenty of international talent and expanding on the series’ global scale. If done right, the baked-in stylistic approach, emphasis on intrigue, and easy in-universe excuses for action could make a cinematic Assassin’s Creed a medieval answer to John Wick.
Could Another Assassin’s Creed Movie Adaptation Happen In The Future?
Just Because The 2016 Film Failed Doesn’t Mean The Series Couldn’t Come Back To The Big Screen
Just because the ideal Assassin’s Creed adaptation hasn’t been made yet doesn’t make it impossible. There have been plenty of examples of studios reapproaching adaptations with mixed receptions to great results. The Academy Award winning Dune films were smash hits, and also far from the first attempt at bringing that story to the big screen. Arcane and The Last of Us prove videogame adaptations can be big hits. The same could happen for Assassin’s Creed if given the right chance. It remains a valuable IP, with the series going strong in the realm of video games.
There’s something inherently cinematic about the series which remains untapped as of this writing.
There have been fourteen main-line entries in the Assassin’s Creed series and over a dozen spin-offs. It’s possible that 20th century could revisit the franchise and focus more on a series of historical action films rather than the overly complex sci-fi elements of the world. The most engaging aspect of Assassin’s Creed has always been the period settings, something even the much maligned film got right in its better moments. There’s something inherently cinematic about the series which remains untapped as of this writing. However, the right creative team could make a pretty great action series where Assassin’s Creed failed.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter