Video game adaptations have always been a mixed bag, but there was genuine excitement and enthusiasm surrounding 2016’s Assassin’s Creed based on the talent involved. Acclaimed Macbeth director Justin Kurzel was behind the camera, while he reunited his Shakespeare adaptation’s two leads in front of it.
Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender aren’t the first two names that spring to mind for a video game blockbuster, but the latter was also one of the producers and the ensemble was filled out by talented character actors like Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams.
Unfortunately, however, Assassin’s Creed didn’t manage to escape the video game curse and despite a decent box office haul of $240 million, reviews were far from enthusiastic. Any plans for a franchise were abandoned, but we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Netflix were developing a prequel to The Witcher weeks before Blood Origin was officially announced – that the streaming service want Fassbender involved in their upcoming live-action TV show in some capacity.
Further details on the role he would play remain unclear, but the premise of Assassin’s Creed means that the actor could realistically cameo in an episode or two without it harming the story being told, or even show up as an entirely new character. Either way, you can completely understand why Netflix would want him involved given Fassbender’s reputation as one of the finest talents of his generation and one of the creative driving forces behind the failed movie adaptation.
Assassin’s Creed is much better suited to an episodic format anyway, and if the material is handled correctly, the streaming service could end up with another major action/adventure show that has the potential to sit comfortably alongside The Witcher as one of their most popular properties.
