Gamers can almost rejoice. Sony is in final negotiations with Ubisoft to acquire the film rights to the massively popular video game, Assassin’s Creed. For those of you NOT into video games all of the Assassin’s Creed games take place in 2012 and feature the protagonist Desmond Miles, a barkeeper who is unknowingly a descendent of a line of Assassins. He is initially kidnapped by the mega-corporation Abstergo Industries, the modern-day face of the Knights Templar, and forced to use the “Animus“, a device that allows him to experience his ancestral memories. Abstergo is seeking to discover the location of several artifacts, or “Pieces of Eden“, that hold great power, to control mankind and alter its fate.
Desmond is later rescued by a small team of modern-day Assassins, and taken to a secure location where he can secure the artifacts before Abstergo. Within the Animus, Desmond experiences the memories of Altaïr ibn-La’Ahad, an Assassin during the Crusades, and Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an Assassin in Italy during the late 15th and early 16th Centuries, both of whom came into contact with one of the Pieces of Eden, “The Apple”.
While following the storyline with Ezio, other Pieces of Eden become known, such as “The Staff”. Throughout these events, Desmond learns of allusions to the prophetic end of the world in 2012 from a former Animus subject, as well as from a holographic figure calling herself Minerva that speaks directly to Desmond through Ezio’s experience. Minerva warns Desmond that only he can stop these events and prevent another catastrophe.
The game has incredible imagery and graphics and should transfer to the big screen extremely well. Ubisoft has set the terms of the deal to be a more active participant in the movie’s development rather than provide a one-off licensing agreement. And is this isn’t enough to get gamers off the couch and into theaters, Ubisoft chief Yves Guillemot says he also wants movies of Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon.
Here is a trailer for the Assassin’s Creed video game to wet your appetite.
