Assassin’s Creed Is Going to Ancient Rome — And Netflix Has One Advantage the Movie Never Had
The new live-action Assassin’s Creed series is heading to Rome in 64 AD. This time, the franchise has something its 2016 movie desperately lacked: room to breathe.
Assassin's Creed has always seemed perfectly suited for a live-action adaptation.
There are secret groups fighting over centuries, historic cities waiting to be explored, political conspiracies, parkour, assassinations, and a war between people who have entirely different views on freedom and control.
Hollywood already tried it.
Although the 2016 Assassin’s Creed film had Michael Fassbender, a large budget, and the fundamental elements of Ubisoft's universe, it had difficulty in turning all of that mythology into a satisfying movie.
Netflix is once more making an attempt, but there is one huge difference this time.
Assassin's Creed is turning into a series.
That could be precisely what this series required.
We’re Going to Rome in 64 AD
Netflix's Assassin's Creed will not just reproduce one of the games. The live-action series is based on an original story which takes place in Rome in 64 AD, during the time that Emperor Nero was reigning. Production got under way in Rome this year, the main filming occurring at Cinecittà Studios, with Netflix and Ubisoft making use of the studio's existing Ancient Rome scenery to create the historical backdrop. The date provides the series with a great deal to work on.
In 64 AD, ancient Rome was an empire characterised by political tension, huge inequality and several centres of power; it was also the year when the Great Fire of Rome occurred, one of the most well-known disasters of Nero's reign.
It has not yet been made clear by Netflix exactly which historical events or figures will be at the heart of the story, so it would be premature to assume that the Great Fire will be the driving element of the plot.Yet the Assassin’s Creed series has always had the habit of introducing fictional conflicts into real historical moments of pressure.The series is given plenty of them by Rome.
The Assassin–Templar War Is Still the Heart of It
The series is described by Netflix as a thriller that focuses on a secret war between two groups. One aims at working out what the future of humanity will be by means of control and manipulation, while the other is determined to preserve free will.
For people who know anything about Assassin’s Creed, the connection is obvious. The Brotherhood and the various groups which later come to be connected with the Templar cause have always stood for more than just convenient teams for players to fight on one side or the other.
Their conflict is ideological.
The game is most interesting when neither side is reduced to the stereotypical image of a hero or a villain. It is possible for order to prevent chaos and for freedom to cause it as well. Control can lead to oppression, and so too can uncontrolled freedom.
The fun aspect of it all is the hidden blades and the rooftop assassinations. It's that argument which gives them meaning.
Only if the Netflix series grasps that does Ancient Rome become more than a mere background for people in hoods.
A Series Has Something the Movie Didn’t: Time
It is here that Netflix has its greatest structural advantage.
Assassin’s Creed is complicated.
An accurate adaptation will have to define the historical period, bring in opposing factions, create its characters, explain the rules of this world and at the same time manage to get the audience to care about a conflict that spans several generations.
It is difficult to fit all of that into a film.
The film from 2016 had about two hours to present its account of the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars, to set up Callum Lynch, to explore Aguilar's story in 15th-century Spain and to explain the Animus and its broader mythology.
One film has a great deal of machinery to deal with. The new adaptation has more room because of television. A historical figure can in fact go through a development rather than merely being someone we meet between the scenes of the exposition. Political relationships can gradually evolve. Betrayals can be significant since the audience has trusted that person over several episodes. Most important of all, the historical setting can be incorporated into the story rather than merely serving as expensive background.
Assassin's Creed should have that room to breathe.
Rome Could Be More Than a Pretty Backdrop
The games function since their cities are not just levels. They are playgrounds. Cities such as Florence, Constantinople, Paris, London, and Baghdad are not merely memorable due to their beauty; it is because their streets, rooftops, landmarks, and crowds form part of the way players come to understand each era.
It is obviously impossible for a television series to reproduce the freedom of being able to climb anywhere you want.
It is able to create the impression that history surrounds the characters.
The production has an interesting basis in that the studio has a well-established record of making large-scale historical films and Netflix states that filming is taking place at its existing Ancient Rome set.
Nothing can be solved merely by having expensive sets.
The setting would be wasted if Rome existed only so that the characters could whisper conspiracies in buildings which look impressive.
The series should ensure that the politics, religion, social hierarchy and instability characteristic of the time influence the actions of the characters.
It is because of this that Assassin’s Creed makes history seem alive.
The Cast Is Already Getting Serious
Netflix has put together a large cast without making public the roles that most of these actors are playing.
Among the series regulars are Lola Petticrew, Toby Wallace, Zachary Hart, Laura Marcus, Tanzyn Crawford, Nabhaan Rizwan and Claes Bang.
The same cast members are Noomi Rapace, Sean Harris, Ramzy Bedia and Corrado Invernizzi, together with Sandra Guldberg-Kampp, Youssef Kerkour, Mirren Mack and Louis McCartney.
It is interesting to keep the identities of the characters a secret.
That is to say that we still do not know which people belong to which side, whether any of them are based on a historical figure or how closely the series will tie in with the existing Assassin’s Creed lore.
It is more reasonable to have that degree of uncertainty than to make everything clear before we have had the opportunity to see the footage.
At the moment, the cast indicates that Netflix is not viewing this as a small experiment.
Being Assassin’s Creed Is Harder Than Looking Like Assassin’s Creed
A clear trap is waiting for this series.
Place a person in a hood.
Give them a concealed blade.
Include an eagle dive, a jump from a great height, and someone dramatically exclaiming "the Brotherhood."
Well done; it seems to be Assassin’s Creed.
That does not mean it feels like Assassin’s Creed.
The franchise succeeds when history, conspiracy and ideology come together. Assassinations must have consequences. The people being targeted should be significant. The opposing side should have a reason for their actions other than just a desire for power since villains themselves want power.
Even parkour has a purpose besides just looking cool.
Traveling through these cities is an expression of freedom. Instead of viewing walls, towers and guarded compounds as boundaries to be respected, the player sees them as things that can be crossed.
To translate that feeling onto television will be considerably more difficult than reproducing a Leap of Faith.
Netflix is capable of using the same imagery.
The actual difficulty lies in applying the philosophy that underlies it.
There Is Still One Huge Unknown
At the moment there is no announced release date.
It has also kept the main character and plot details a secret, so it would be pointless to say that the adaptation has been a success before having seen any footage.
The series contains promising elements.
Ancient Rome is a very good setting since the overall atmosphere is strong. Having an original story means that the writers won't be forced to reproduce each game scene individually. Most important of all, the use of serialized storytelling gives Assassin’s Creed much more scope than a feature film could.
That doesn't ensure that the result will work.
It eliminates one of the major structural problems that the earlier adaptation had.
For nearly two decades Assassin’s Creed has been getting players to enter history and remain in it for dozens of hours.
Perhaps the error was in trying to fit that experience into two.
For another game-to-film adaptation, read our Street Fighter movie guide.
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