Adaptations of videogames into narrative media such as movies and TV series have been a hit-or-miss prospect throughout the decades. Last year, one very-anticipated game-to-movie adaptation was that of the “Assassin’s Creed” series by Ubisoft, which starred Michael Fassbender of Fox’s “X-Men” film series. The box office results were not so promising, but have convinced Ubisoft to try again with an animated series format. To realize this new direction, which is considered part of the canon of the game series’ overarching storyline, the company has decided to tap into the services of Adi Shankar, who is currently working on an animated series adaptation of “Castlevania” for Netflix.
Excited announcement
The first announcement pertaining to a possible “Assassin’s Creed” series was from Adi Shankar himself, on his Facebook page Wednesday July 5. He wrote that Ubisoft had gotten in touch with him for the possibility of developing an animated series for the game series, with an original new story set in the “Assassin’s Creed” universe. This is in the vein of the 2016 film with Michael Fassbender, who with his supporting cast, was conceived out of whole cloth but has connections to the factions established in the game series. Shankar himself excitedly announced this to be his next project in his post.
Beyond this and the “Castlevania” Netflix series that is due to premiere Friday July 7, Shankar has had some major filmmaking experience in past years.
He was executive producer of “Machine Gun Preacher” starring Gerard Butler in 2011, followed by 2012’s “Dredd” with Karl Urban. Shankar also gained some popularity from his work in short films online, like the mature and bloody “Power/Rangers” tribute (which may have spurred this year’s Lionsgate adaptation).
Ubisoft quiet
While Adi Shankar has been active on social media regarding the potential of an “Assassin’s Creed” series, the games’ creators at Ubisoft have yet to give any official word regarding their most successful franchise.
Then again, it is an open secret that the company has been making efforts to realize a series based on their property alongside the 2016 “Assassin’s Creed” film, which earned enough ($240M against $125M budget) to make it the eighth highest-earning videogame film adaptation. Ubisoft has even discussed the possibilities with Netflix, which is streaming Shankar’s “Castlevania” animation.
Meanwhile, the in-game story of the struggle between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order continues in the latest installment “Assassin’s Creed: Origins” which is set in Ancient Egypt of 300BC. The game by Ubisoft is due October 27 for the PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC.
