What Are We Expecting From Netflix’s ‘Assassin’s Creed’ TV Show
As you probably know, Netflix officially announced in 2020 that Assassin’s Creed TV show is in development. And although we didn’t get any new info since then, I am, as a hardcore AC fan, so much excited for this upcoming project.
Ever since the release of the 2016 film, which I consider to have been an insult to all AC fans, I have constantly hoped that this would happen because the series has the potential to do what the film could not. The film was a huge let-down, but the biggest problem lies in the fact that in two hours of film, they simply couldn’t squeeze a story that was developed through several games over the years.
Those who played AC, at least initially know that Desmond’s main story lasted through the first five games of the franchise, and each game was set in different historical period (the Crusades, Renaissance Italy, Old Constantinople, the American Revolutionary War, etc.). What I would like to see in the series, is to tailor several seasons in which there would be one main character in the present, following the example of Desmond, but in parallel with his main story in the present, each season to tell a secondary storyline through historical periods, Desmond’s ancestors.
In other words, if we look from the perspective of the games, the story of Altair would be in the first season, then Ezio in the second (given the amount of material, Ezio’s story could expand to two or three seasons), then Connor in the season after that, and so on. Because all these historical stories are a direct follow-up to the main one that takes place in the present in which an Apple of Eden is sought on the basis of historical events.
Of course, we still don’t know if the series will take the characters and storylines from the games or will create something original just for the show. But the very point of Assassin’s Creed has always been this parallel between action in the past and action in the present, so whoever the main character is, and whatever historical period we see, I think this format of the season could work well because that way the main story would not be rushed as it was in the film, and in addition, we could explore several historical periods.
10 to 13 episodes of one hour per season would be quite enough to tell one part of the story in history, in parallel with a story in the present that would last for several seasons and that would take care of cliffhangers and those other things. I have absolutely nothing against creating original characters for the series that we didn’t see in the game, I didn’t even blame the film for doing that, but the story and the premise simply have to be 100% from the core of Assassin’s Creed, and that’s what the film failed to do and that’s why and turned out to be a failure as it is.
Given that Netflix is developing the series, I expect the set design to be at a high level, both for historic cities in the past and for sci-fi elements in the present. Also, another advantage that Netflix has is that the series is open to bloody depictions of violence and hand-to-hand fighting which was sorely lacking in the film given that the film was a PG-13. But, if a series wants to touch in the true sense of Assassi’s Creed, it simply has to be an R rating.
It’s not known when the series will come out, probably not so soon, which I actually don’t mind at all. Let them take the time to put it together properly because rushing would be the biggest mistake they could make. I really have high hopes for this series, because I am terribly attached to the whole AC franchise. I somehow managed to get over the film, but the series better lives up to the name of Assassin’s Creed.