A mighty partnership has been struck between Netflix and Ubisoft in an effort to bring the world ofAssassin’s Creedto the streaming giant. A live-actionAssassin’s Creedtelevision show is currently in the works at Netflix, the first of multiple projects coming to the platform as part of what will be anAssassin’s Creedextended universe. The news arrives just two weeks ahead of the launch ofAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla, the 12th main release in the video game franchise that launched back in 2007. This is also the second major video game franchise Netflix has scooped up, in addition toResident Evil, which also seems to begetting the expanded universe treatment.
In a release sent out Tuesday morning, we learned that the Netflix and Ubisoft partnership will yield a live-action TV series, an animated series, and an anime series. The implication here in an extendedAssassin’s Creeduniverse within the confines of streaming, and it’s a major undertaking as this franchise continues to grow. Nothing in the way of plot details or casting has been revealed at this point, so it’s unclear how the live-action show will attack the complex story at the heart ofAssassin’s Creed. Intriguingly, theAssassin’s Creedlive-action series currently has no showrunner, which makes it harder to discern what kind of narrative or aesthetic influences will be brought to the project.
It’s not difficult to see why Netflix has jumped on the opportunity to bring in another major IP into their stable.Assassin’s Creedis a prime intersection of interests for Netflix: It blends the fantasy elements à la uber-successful seriesThe Witcherwith the enticing one-two punch of a historical epic and the intrigue of a science fiction story which sees a shadowy group known as the Assassins facing off against the all-powerful Templars, who seek to control the world. Why not spend eight to 10 hours living in that world as you binged a live-actionAssassin’s CreedTV show? Plus, plans to adapt the franchise into animated and anime series means tapping into two more prominent veins of Netflix viewership, which means even more opportunities to flesh out this world as it exists on streaming as bring in multiple stories from the video game franchise.
While no plot details have been revealed about the live-action show, I highly doubt it will bear any ties toJustin Kurzel’s 2016 live-actionAssassin’s Creedmovie starringMichael Fassbender,Marion Cotillard,Ariane Labed, andJeremy Irons. With 12 games chock-full of narrative to draw from and the low odds of Netflix nabbing any of those A-listers for their own purposes, chances are good theAssassin’s Creedlive-action show will be rounding up a brand new cast to bring its story to life. But even without the draw of big names at time of announcement, we shouldn’t worry too much about whether this live-action show will be able to draw viewers in. Kurzel’s visually inventive and thematically intriguing adaptation came away from its theatrical run with $54.6 million domestic and $186 million internationally, making the $125 million live-action less of a smash hit and more of a unique, low-key successful outing. This, in combination with the fanbase already built-in from the video game franchise, could spell success for Netflix’s live-action TV show further down the road.
We’ll keep you posted about the newAssassin’s CreedNetflix projects as they develop. Check out the new logo for the NetflixAssassin’s Creedextended universe below. For more, get updated on the latestnews forAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla, coming November 10.
Allie Gemmill is the Weekend Contributing Editor for Collider. you may follow them on Twitter@_matineeidle.
