It’s kind of amazing that in 2011 there hasn’t really been a huge, successful video game movie franchise started from something like a Halo or a Gears of War. There’s of course the Resident Evil franchise that keep chugging along, and there were two big Tomb Raider films, but really there’s just been a lot of B-adaptations and some abortive blockbusters like Prince of Persia. Just by sheer numbers you’d think there would be one shining example of a tentpole franchise emerging from that world. Maybe it will end up being Angry Birds?
Not if Ubisoft and Sony have their way! The two are reported to be in “final negotiations” to partner on a blockbuster adaptation of Assassin’s Creed, the +30m copy-selling next generation video game franchise that is set to release a fourth entry later this year.
The franchise, which many of you likely know much more about than me, follows an assassin controlled by a modern gentleman who is forced to make his genetic predecessor work against and among rival cults in different centuries. A lot of religious and conspiracy myth is wrapped up in the now iconic game.
Ubisoft worked hard in their dealings to make sure they retain a degree of control over the production, which is a sentiment I’m hearing more and more from video game deals– I guess they’re sick of their properties becoming jokes. Will all these tech companies do better at engaging some quality control than the Hollywood studios have done over the past two decades? I’m skeptical, but it’s very true that many of them are looking to cultivate the long-term health and prestige of their core franchises, something a partnering studio would only be tangentially concerned with. Maybe it’s the dawning of a new age of better, more sophisticated cashing in and ruthless multi-platform exploitation of successful IPs!
This Assassin’s Creed deal is the result of a major bidding war, so expect to see more movement on the project soon…
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Source | Variety
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For what its worth Renn, The Creed games have been absolutely amazing. The story line of the series is absolutely fantastic, and as they’ve shown, there is always room for expansion. While you’re partially right about the religious stuff, they’ve gone full Alien technology behind religion route with it. (Oops, spoiler) I have absolutely no idea how they could make it into a movie without just bludgeoning the narrative to death though. Likely, they’ll make it about Desmond in the present day, being an assassin, merely having flashbacks to his assassin ancestors. (For financial reasons of course.) And while that would be an interesting movie, at this point, Desmond isn’t even an assassin in the present in the damn game series. And that would be a horrible shame. Quite honestly, each game in the primary series (leaving off the sidequels and psp incarnations) would make a fantastic movie…. I almost wish they’d just leave this property alone. Haven’t the games made enough damn money?
They really are great (although the first game was a bit repetitive). Making them into movies, though? Unnecessary. The stories unfold really well in the context of gameplay, but in a movie setting they’d have to be either seriously watered-down or a carbon-copy, minus the joy of controlling the action.
Although… a movie based on the established in-game technology and mythology with a different “test subject,” a different “ancestor assassin” to link him to, and a different historical city could work really well. It would get the basics out there and would be free to walk its own path. And Desmond, Altair, and/or Ezio could certainly make an appearance without upsetting the continuity-conscious gamers out there.
In any event, I’m psyched for “Revelations.” Renn, I don’t know how much of a gamer you are, but if you have any interest, pick up a used copy of ACII and check it out (you can skip the first- it might frustrate you more than please you).
And skip Brotherhood, too, which was dull as hell.
Really, the series starts and ends with Assassin’s Creed 2.
They are great games with great gameplay (except the first, which sucked). Trouble is, the “plot” to Assassin’s Creed is so needlessly convoluted and bizarre that it doesn’t bode well for a film adaptation, where plot is king.
Not to be a killjoy, but I don’t see much point in adapting video games into non-interactive movies. It’s a retrograde motion in media development. Like saying, “Hey, ‘Avatar’ would make a great radio play!”
I dug Brotherhood… until somewhere about 3/4 of the way through. Still enjoyed it, but it sort of fizzled to a non-ending. I mean the Ezio stuff, not the Desmond epilogue. THAT was wacky enough to keep me interested.
I do see why it might be considered dull, but I didn’t play (and finish) II until about 2 weeks before Brotherhood came out, so I was still in “the zone.” If I had waited the year between the two I might have been underwhelmed. It’s only just now that I realize how small a step forward the game made.
I’m hoping for a little more out of Revelations. But what I’m really looking forward to is an ACIII with a new flashback character & city/nation.
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