Die Hard Writer Reportedly Joins Assassin's Creed Show
Writer Jeb Stuart has been tapped to write a live-action adaptation of the Assassin's Creed game series for Netflix. This series was originally announced in October as part of a deal between Netflix and Ubisoft, which includes live-action, animated, and anime content based on Ubisoft's game properties. The partnership has resulted in the announcement of other TV projects, including a Splinter Cell anime series with John Wick writer Derek Kolstad attached, an anime series based on Far Cry, and a Far Cry anime series spin-off titled Captain Laswerhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix.
The open-world action-adventure stealth game franchise revolves around an ongoing conflict between the Assassins and the Knights Templar, who represent freedom and order, respectively. The Assassins seek to stop the Knight Templar from finding the Pieces of Eden, which would allow them to take control of humanity and end free will. Each Assassin's Creed video game entry tracks this battle across various time periods. Ubisoft Film & Television's Jason Altman and Danielle Kreinik are reported to serve as executive producers.
According to Variety, Netflix has hired Jeb Stuart to write the live-action adaptation of Assassin's Creed. Stuart is best known for writing Die Hard, the Academy Award Best Picture nominee The Fugitive, and Another 48 Hours. This announcement continues Stuart's relationship with Netflix, as he also wrote the 2020 mini-series The Liberator and Vikings: Valhalla, which is a spin-off to the History Channel series Vikings. There is no word regarding the Assassin's Creed plot, setting, or a release date at this time.
The original video game was released in 2007 and became a hit, selling over 155 million copies across the franchise. The upcoming Netflix series is not the first venture into live-action territory. An Assassin's Creed film adaptation was released in 2016 with Michael Fassbender in the lead role. The story follows Callum Lynch, who explores the memories of his ancestor Aguilar de Nerha and takes on the skills of a Master Assassin. On a reported budget of $125 million, the film grossed $240 million worldwide. While the film is set in the same universe as the video games, it is an original story that seeks to expand upon the mythology of the franchise.
Given the film adaptation's general poor critical reception, the live-action Netflix series has a lot to prove. However, it is certainly exciting to see how Stuart will adapt the world of Assassin's Creed to a longer form of storytelling as a series. Now that Stuart's involvement has been announced, hopefully more news will follow soon that will give more insight into what fans can expect from this upcoming series.
Source: Variety