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First Look: Assassin’s Creed

You read right. A movie based on yet another popular video game franchise is getting ready to hit the big screens. We know what you're thinking, "groan, another video game movie." And you have every reason to think that. There is not one movie based on a video game property that you can confidently call out as having been even marginally good (the original Mortal Kombat probably being the only exception and that depends on who you ask) so, let the doubts and criticisms fly. However, take a look at this picture first posted by Yahoo! Movies, featuring Michael Fassbender in the role of Callum Lynch, a new character created specifically for this movie. It could be good, at least we hope it will be. With an actor of Fassbender's caliber, it should be. He certainly looks the part of an assassin. IMG_1382 For many, creating a character that is not a part of the game continuity is probably the first red flag. However, in this case, making up a new character and placing him in a universe that we know about might be the key to making this feel like an original movie that could do justice to the spirit of a video game property. Having a character that is not bound necessarily by the rules of the game we understand could make the movie feel like a movie as opposed to a video game trying to be a movie. It certainly does not hurt that the film is not setting out to retell any of the stories of the games but rather, it is introducing new characters and new elements into an existing world we know about while telling the story we are familiar with. That bit should quiet some of the doubt. Fassbender's Lynch discovers he is a descendent of a secret society of assassins by way of genetic memories that have been unlocked. These memories essentially allow him to relive the adventures of his ancestor Aguilar in 15th century Spain. Everything he learns from these memories will be of vital importance if he is to succeed in taking on the Knights Templar in the present day. The film also will star Marion Cotillard (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises), Ariane Lebed (Before Midnight), and Michael Kenneth Williams (12 Years A Slave). Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel is set to direct and has already directed Fassbender and Cotillard in his upcoming adaptation of Macbeth. Bill Collage and Adam Cooper (Exodus: Gods and Kings) and Michael Lesslie (Macbeth, 2015) have written the screenplay. Filming is set to begin as soon as next week and Assassin's Creed is slated for a December 21st released in 2016. What a way to bring in holidays, would you agree?

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About / Bio
Steven Armstrong is an editor and staff writer for Entertainment Fuse's Movie Department. He also is a creative writer of fiction and poetry, an occasional filmmaker and electronic musician who enjoys reading, writing, video games, movies and any good story.

Should you be curious, he can also be found talking about movies for the Center 4 Cinephiles (C4C) on YouTube.

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