It’s been nearly five years in the making, but the live-action Assassin’s Creed series at Netflix is finally greenlit with Roberto Patino (Westworld, Sons of Anarchy) and David Wiener (Halo, The Killing) as creators, showrunners and executive producers, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The blockbuster Assassin’s Creed gaming franchise from French video game publisher Ubisoft first launched in 2007. The games have gone on to sell more than 230 million copies worldwide.
Assassin’s Creed jumped from consoles to the big screen in 2016 via Twentieth Century Fox. The movie version made $240 million at the worldwide box office.
The Netflix series’ logline reads: “Assassin’s Creed is a high-octane thriller centered on the secret war between two shadowy factions — one set on determining mankind’s future through control and manipulation, while the other fights to preserve free will. The series follows its characters across pivotal historical events as they battle to shape humanity’s destiny.”
The Assassin’s Creed TV show follows other gaming adaptations at Netflix, like Castlevania, Arcane, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and the upcoming Splinter Cell: Deathwatch.
“We’ve been fans of Assassin’s Creed since its release in 2007. Every day we work on this show, we come away excited and humbled by the possibilities that Assassin’s Creed opens to us,” Wiener and Patino said in a joint statement. “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,” they continued. “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.”
Peter Friedlander, Netflix’s vice president of scripted series, added, “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. 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.”
In addition to Wiener and Patino, executive producers on the streaming series include Gerard Guillemot, Margaret Boykin, Austin Dill for Ubisoft Film & Television, and Matt O’Toole.
“We are so excited to work alongside Roberto, David, and our Netflix partners to bring this beloved franchise to series,” Boykin, executive producer and head of content at Ubisoft Film & Television, said. “We look forward to delivering an experience that speaks to the heart of what fans love about Assassin’s Creed, while introducing its unforgettable worlds and timeless themes to new audiences worldwide.”