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5 Things Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed TV Show Must Include if It Wants To Get the Games Right
Assassin’s Creed is one of gaming’s biggest franchises, and over the years has delivered classics like Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, just to name a few. That trend continues with the excellent Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, but the franchise’s gaming success hasn’t translated to the big or small screen, as the 2016 Assassin’s Creed film underwhelmed at the box office. Now Netflix is adapting Assassin’s Creed for a live-action series, and we’ve got 5 things the new show must include if it wants to actually get the games right.
5. When It Comes To Modern Day, Less Is More
One of the more contentious elements in the franchise is the modern-day storyline, which has been a part of the franchise in various ways since the beginning. Over the years, one lesson learned in the games is that less is more in its effectiveness, and that was not the case when it came to the 2016 film.
That film heavily leaned into the science fiction elements of the story, and that in itself is connected to the modern day. While that may serve as the entryway of how players are transported into the lives of various characters in the past, once you are in those worlds, the characters and their relationships, challenges, and conflicts take over, and they absolutely should. Moving back into the modern day so much just takes you away from what is most compelling, and that’s a mistake the new series will hopefully not repeat.
4. Lean Into The Lore
Speaking of the characters and their world, at the center of that world is an era spanning conflict between the Templars and the Assassins, which is what everything else is built on top of. That’s the foundation of the story, no matter which character you are focusing on in any given game, and while that was included in the 2016 film, it felt far underserved.
The conflict and the stakes at play should immediately give an Assassin’s Creed story a certain level of intensity and adventure, and both of those were missing in the previous film. Exploring the world to see not only what the previous Assassins left behind but also seeing how their conflict with the Templars progressed offers a bevy of opportunities to hook the viewer into the grander story while also moving the lead character forward. That war also offers opportunities to switch up dynamics between characters as the story progresses. None of that is possible though if you don’t give the central lore its due, and hopefully that will be the case moving forward.
3. Moving Like Assassins
Moving to the action side of the series, those who play the games are used to moving across the rooftops of a city with stealth and style thanks to the franchise’s focus on parkour. That sense of style and speed also carries over to combat, and the new live-action series has a real chance to create something amazing if it embraces those elements for the screen.
While there were aspects of this in the 2016 film, the new live-action series should truly lean in on this. Whether it’s a chase sequence through a heavily crowded market or across the rooftops, or it’s a tension heavy sequence where an Assassins is tailing a Templar for the location of their hideout, parkour and verticality can be utilized to a massive degree, and if you really want to recreate the Assassin’s Creed experience, it’s really a must that this make its way to the screen the next time around.
2. Assassins Need a Supporting Cast
While the Assassin gets the lion’s share of attention, the supporting cast is just as important. Examples of this in action can be found in games like Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, Origins, Black Flag, and especially Odyssey, which just might have the best supporting cast in the series to date. These characters provide so much in terms of character depth for your lead hero, and if you embrace the sense of adventure as a whole, they make even more of an impact.
Whether it’s a sequence of playful banter, a comedic scenario that allows your character’s eccentricities to shine, or a heart wrenching moment given more impact because of the relationship the lead has built with them over the course of the game, Assassin’s Creed games are always better when the supporting cast is well developed and utilized with purpose throughout the story, and that is true of any film or series as well.
1. A Fan-Favorite Protagonist
Over the years, the Assassin’s Creed franchise has created a number of beloved characters, with some reaching truly iconic status within the franchise. While it may be tempting to create someone new and put your own stamp on the world, that’s not what the franchise needs in terms of being successful on the screen, at least now at this current stage. You only get so many chances at a big film or TV series, so if Netflix wants this one to land, my personal view is that it needs someone that not only the fans know at the center of it, but someone fans adore.
That gives you a few options, and names that immediately come to mind are Ezio Auditore (Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations), Kassandra (Odyssey), and Edward Kenway (Black Flag), with other favorite Assassin’s like Aveline (Liberation), Adéwalé (Freedom Cry), Bayek (Origins), and Jacob and Evie Frye (Syndicate) in the mix as well.
Utilizing one of these names instantly gives the series a defined feel and tone thanks to that lead character, which in turn gives it some weight with fans, but it also gives the series an instant surrounding circle of key supporting characters, moments fans want to see brought to life in live-action, and a defined enemy. Having all of that defined from the jump will hopefully leave more time to define the characters and bring their various dynamics to life while allowing the mythology to shine, and that may be the key to bringing Television success to the franchise.
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