A new image from the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed movie has been released online. The film is, of course, an adaptation of Ubisoft’s long-running video game series, and while video game movies are traditionally quite terrible, Assassin’s Creed has plenty to point to it as potentially our very first good video game adaptation. First of all we have Michael Fassbender—one of the best actors working today—in the starring role. That’s a solid start, but you may be thinking, “Hey, good actors can be in bad movies, what makes this different?” Ah, that’s where director Justin Kurzel comes in. Fassbender, who is also producing Assassin’s Creed, enlisted his Macbeth filmmaker Kurzel to take the helm of the video game adaptation, adding some tremendous clout to the behind-the-scenes team. Moreover, Kurzel brings with him his frequent cinematographer Adam Arkapow, who was the DP on Macbeth and the first season of True Detective, if that tells you anything.
So yeah, there’s reason to be excited, and that’s without mentioning the film’s stellar supporting cast which includes Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, and Michael K. Williams. As for the story, we don’t know too much, but Ubisoft aims to craft something along the lines of Batman Begins and Blade Runner with this film, which finds Fassbender playing a man named Callum Lynch, who uses revolutionary technology to experience the adventures of his 15th Century Spain-living ancestor Aguilar.
Fassbender plays both Lynch and Aguilar, and as we can see here in this new photo alongside co-star Ariane Labed, the iconic hood and robes look quite dashing on the actor. He admits to EW (which debuted the image) that he hadn’t played the video game before signing on, but has since given it a spin:
“I’ve played it since [being offered the job] mainly to get an idea of the physicality of the character. We’re striving to find something special. We believe the whole concept around it is special and want to service that the best we can. The fans are really passionate: very specific and they expect accuracy and historical detail. We’re really trying to capitalize and feed on and enjoy the fun element. We’re working hard to make this something special.”
All signs point to Fassbender and Kurzel succeeding, so here’s hoping we get a debut trailer relatively soon. For now, take a closer look at the photo below. Assassin’s Creed opens in theaters on December 21, 2016.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.