Michael Fassbender in 'Assassin's Creed': Watch New Trailer
Video game movies have a less-than-stellar track record (to say the least). Still, that hasn’t dissuaded Michael Fassbender from starring in a big-budget adaptation of Assassin’s Creed, which lands in theaters on Dec. 21 — and which has just debuted a trailer (watch it above) that suggests the Steve Jobs star may end up as a winner in the tricky game-to-movie transition.
Related: ‘Assassin’s Creed’: First Look at Michael Fassbender as Callum Lynch
Based on the long-running stealth-based series (produced by Ubisoft) about a centuries-old battle between a group of righteous Assassins and nefarious Templars, Assassin’s Creed will feature Fassbender as Callum Lynch, a criminal who — on the eve of his execution — is forced by an evil-sounding Marion Cotillard (and, also, Jeremy Irons) to use a magical device known as the Animus to travel back in time to relive the memories of his Spanish Inquisition ancestor, who happens to be a lethal assassin. In the process, Fassbender’s reformed crook learns to harness his predecessor’s imposing weapons-wielding, wall-climbing, chasm-jumping, rooftop-running, backward-flipping skills, undoubtedly so he can eventually fight back against those who’d do him harm.
Related: Michael Fassbender to Play Serial Killer in True Crime Story ‘Entering Hades’
While this sneak peek does little more than set up the film’s basic premise, its footage of a face-tattooed Fassbender engaging in death-defying medieval combat indicates a premium on larger-than-life action set pieces. For fans of the games, Assassin’s Creed appears to be a reasonably faithful translation of its source material’s story and style — replete with Fassbender donning the series’ trademark hooded cloak. And for newbies, it looks like the film, helmed by Fassbender’s Macbeth director, Justin Kurzel, will be an imposing historical-sci-fi adventure.
Michael Fassbender talks about why he wanted to make ‘Macbeth’:
