Assassin’s Creedis one of the worst video game adaptations of all time, but it has turned into a streaming hit on Max. The 2016 flop starredMichael Fassbender, who was red-hot coming off two excellentX-Menprequels, Marion Cotillard (Inception), and Jeremy Irons (who was in the terrible adaptation ofDungeons and Dragons). It’s currently at number two on Max’s Top 10 movie list in the United States, and is also in the Top 10 in a few countries worldwide.
The movie is a film adaptation by director Justin Kurzel (The Snowtown Murders) and is based on the popular video game series and follows Cal Lynch / Aguilar (Fassbender), who travels back in time to learn how to be an assassin from his ancestors so he can fight the Templar Knights in the present day. The film is as ridiculous as it sounds, despite the incredible talent appearing on the screen.
It currently has a pitiful 19% critical and 42% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus says, “Assassin’s Creed is arguably better made (and certainly better cast) than most video game adaptations; unfortunately, the CGI-fueled end result is still a joylessly overplotted slog.” It’s faring better on IMDb with an average score of 5.6 / 10 based on over 213,000 reviews.
Are Video Game Movies Still Cursed?
Video game movies have a terrible history of lackluster adaptations, such as Hitman and Warcraft. Thankfully, things are starting to look better.
Assassin’s Creedopened in Dec. 2016 and earned only $54.6 million in North America; however, it was a big hit in the international market, pulling in a sizzling $186 million for a worldwide total of $240.6 million. That’s not a bad figure until you realize the production budget was $125 millon and doesn’t take into account marketing costs and splitting revenue with movie theaters. The bomb killed any hopes of a film franchise.
The movie once again proves thatadapting video games into films is quite difficult. For everySonic the Hedgehogand the animatedTheSuper Mario Bros. Movie(2023), audiences are subjected to the terrible live-action Super Mario Bros. (1993),Uncharted, Borderlands, Street Fighter(1994),Double Dragon, and several others. Even series such asThe Last of Usis highly rated and beloved because the producers understand what it takes to adapt a video game: respect the original material and make an entertaining movie or show.
‘Assassin’s Creed’ TV Shows are Stuck in Limbo
A few years ago, it was revealed that video game publisher Ubisoft was actively developing alive-actionAssassin’s CreedTV show was for NetflixwithDie HardandVikings: Valhallawriter and producer Jeb Stuart attached as showrunner. Unfortunately, by early 2023,Stuart left, and the show has been in limbo ever since.
It was also announced that ananime-styleAssassin’s Creedserieswas in development at Netflix along with a third series of a regularanimated series. Many of these conversations and rumors began when theAssassin’s Creedmovie was set to open in Dec. 2016. As of this writing, there hasn’t been much in the way of news or rumors since 2023, except the occasional tidbit that all three are still in development. But let’s be honest, the shows are all stuck in development hell.
Assassin’s Creed
