First released in 2007, Ubisoft’s historic action role-playing game Assassin’s Creed quickly became a global phenomenon. Now, the beloved video game franchise is set to make its live-action debut as a Netflix series, with Ubisoft playing an active role in the production.
Nearly five years after first announcing a partnership with Ubisoft, Netflix has announced that the upcoming series will be helmed by creators Roberto Patino (Westworld, Sons of Anarchy) and David Wiener (Brave New World, Halo), who will also serve as directors. The first season is expected to feature 14 episodes and promises to deliver a fast-paced, high-stakes thriller.
In a joint statement, Patino and Wiener expressed their enthusiasm, saying they have been fans of the series since its release in 2007, and added:
“Every day we work on this show, we come away excited and humbled by the possibilities that ‘Assassin’s Creed’ opens to us. Beneath the scope, the spectacle, the parkour and the thrills is a baseline for the most essential kind of human story — about people searching for purpose, struggling with questions of identity and destiny and faith. It is about power and violence and sex and greed and vengeance. But more than anything, this is a show about the value of human connection, across cultures, across time. And it’s about what we stand to lose as a species, when those connections break. We’ve got an amazing team behind us with the folks at Ubisoft and our champions at Netflix, and we’re committed to creating something undeniable for fans all over the planet.”
“When we first announced our partnership with Ubisoft in 2020, we set out with an ambitious goal to bring the rich, expansive world of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ to life in bold new ways,” said Peter Friedlander, Netflix’s Vice President of Scripted Series. “Now, after years of dedicated collaboration, it’s inspiring to see just how far that vision has come. Guided by the deft hands of Roberto Patino and David Wiener, the team has carefully crafted an epic adventure that both honors the legacy of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ franchise and invites longtime fans and newcomers alike to experience the thrill of the Brotherhood as never before.”
The franchise was previously adapted into a 2016 film starring Michael Fassbender, which received heavy criticism from both fans and critics. Expectations are now high for the Netflix adaptation, though an official release date has not yet been confirmed.