The franchise Assassin's Creed It takes a new leap into live action with a live-action series produced by Netflix in collaboration with UbisoftAfter several years of rumors and preliminary announcements, the project has definitively left the development phase and is now in full production, with a consolidated creative team and a finalized international cast.
Far from literally adapting any of the video games, the production will focus on An unpublished story set in Ancient Rome, specifically in the year 64 ADThis is a particularly tense moment for the Empire. The intention is to remain true to the spirit of the saga—conspiracies, secret societies, and ideological conflicts—while also offering a plot that works on its own for any viewer coming from scratch.
Rome, 64 AD: the new stage for the secret war
The saga's universe has spanned from Jerusalem during the Crusades to the French Revolution, but Imperial Rome had taken a backseat in the main gamesThe Netflix series fills that gap and sets the action in the Roman Empire under the rule of Nero, in a year marked by the great fire that devastated a large part of the city.
According to the official synopsis shared by Netflix and Ubisoft, the production is presented as A high-voltage thriller centered on a covert war between two shadowy factionsOne of them resorts to manipulation and control, while the other defends free will and the capacity for individual choice, in clear harmony with the eternal clash between Templars and Assassins that forms the backbone of the franchise.
This conflict will be interwoven with historical events of great importanceWith the burning of Rome as a clear backdrop, the context of persecution, repression, and internal power struggles proves particularly conducive to the plots of espionage, betrayals, and shifts in loyalty that characterize the Ubisoft saga.
Filming has begun in Italy, with a special focus on the Cinecittà studios in Romewhere large sets of the ancient city are being used and expanded. The goal is to recreate both the monumental areas and the working-class neighborhoods in the greatest detail, offering a believable, gritty, and vibrant Rome that serves as the backdrop for the action and stealth sequences.
So far, no official images of the series have been shown beyond the institutional announcements, so Specific details about the presence of the Animus remain up in the air., the possible connections with plots already seen in video games or the appearance of relevant historical figures such as Nero himself.
An original story within the Assassin's Creed universe
Netflix and Ubisoft have made it clear that fiction It will not directly adapt any specific installment of the sagaInstead of recreating a familiar plot step by step, the team has chosen to build a timeline of its own embedded in the general continuity de Assassin's Creed.
This decision allows us to take advantage of the richness of existing lore —the age-old war between opposing orders, the artifacts of ancient civilizations, and the clash between control and freedom— without being tied to characters or missions that players know inside out. Rome in 64 AD thus presents itself as a new “playing field” within the franchise's global timeline.
In an official statement, Netflix has described the project as a “fast-paced thriller” It aims to combine large-scale action sequences, political conspiracies, and a more intimate focus on identity and the personal consequences of living underground. This emphasis points to an ensemble structure, with several characters involved at different levels of the plot.
For European audiences, and especially for Spanish audiences accustomed to historical period productions, The Roman setting has an obvious appeal.Not only because of the cultural and historical weight of the Empire in Europe, but also because of the possibility of seeing recognizable scenarios from Antiquity recreated with a budget befitting a major international platform.
International cast: familiar faces and new talents
One of the aspects that has generated the most interest is the cast, which mixes established film and television actors with emerging performersNetflix has confirmed that the series will star... Lola Petticrew, Tony Wallace y Zachary Hart, with a notable presence of Noomi Rapace, Claes bang y Sean harris, among others.
Lola Petticrew and Toby Wallace, with experience in dramatic and youth-oriented titles, will assume part of the leading roles, accompanied by Laura Marcus, Tanzyn Crawford, Nabhaan Rizwan and Zachary Hart at the heart of the recurring characters. The production thus reinforces a commitment to a diverse cast that can connect with different audiences.
In the section on most recognizable faces, Noomi Rapace —seen in international science fiction and thriller productions—, Claes bang y Sean harris They bring experience in intense and morally ambiguous roles, very appropriate for a story where no one ever fully reveals their hand.
The cast is completed with Ramzy Bedia, Corrado Invernizzi, Sandra Guldberg-Kampp, Youssef Kerkour, Mirren Mack and Louis McCartneyAmong other names that will participate in secondary or recurring roles. So far, neither Netflix nor Ubisoft have revealed which characters each actor will play or which side each key figure belongs to within the central conflict.
The lack of details about identities and alliances is part of the initial communication strategy: to maintain the mystery surrounding who moves in the shadowswho is linked to the Brotherhood of Assassins and who stands on the side of the forces that seek to impose order at any cost.
Showrunners and creative team: veterans of genre television
Behind the camera, the series boasts a creative team that has already demonstrated its competence in high-budget projects. Roberto Patino and David Wiener serve as creators, showrunners, and executive producers, contributing his previous experience in productions such as Westworld, Sons of Anarchy, Halo, The Killing o Homecoming.
Both have stated in declarations to Netflix that they are fans of the franchise since the release of the original game in 2007Their intention is to go beyond pure visual spectacle and recover "the value of human connection across time and cultures," one of the themes they consider central to the saga.
In their words, the story they want to tell revolves around what humanity stands to lose when those ties are brokenintegrating themes such as power, violence, revenge, and faith into a single narrative. This approach suggests that, alongside parkour and action, there will be room to develop complex characters and internal conflicts.
Involvement Ubisoft Film & Television It is also significant. Names like Gerard Guillemot, Margaret Boykin, Austin Dill and Genevieve Jones They are listed as executive producers for the French company, accompanied by Matt O'TooleIts presence aims to ensure that The adaptation respects the essence and lore of the franchise, something especially sensitive after the lukewarm reception of the 2016 film starring Michael Fassbender.
In addition to the production and directing work, there are other profiles with experience in high-level television, which points to an ambitious technical approach in staging, production design, costumes, and historical recreation.
Ubisoft and Netflix's goals with the new adaptation
With over two hundred million copies sold worldwide, Assassin's Creed is one of Ubisoft's key franchisesThe company has been trying for some time to strengthen its presence outside of video games, and the alliance with Netflix fits into that strategy of expanding into audiovisual formats.
This series is also understood as an attempt to turn the page regarding the 2016 feature filmwhich failed to make an impact with either critics or at the box office. This time, the approach moves away from cinema and opts for a serialized format that allows to delve deeper into the characters, the political plots, and the historical backgroundelements that in games are usually developed over dozens of hours.
For Netflix, the project means strengthen its catalog of genre productions based on major franchises...a field where the platform has been investing for years with adaptations of literary sagas, comics, and video games. A series of Assassin's Creed With sufficient quality and a good reception, it could become a long-running title within its global catalog.
The choice of a European historical setting as recognizable as Rome, and of a specific context such as the year 64 AD, It also allows direct connection with audiences in the Old Continent.It is possible that, if the series is successful, the collaboration will continue with new seasons in other historical periods or with parallel projects within the same universe.
Current status of filming and possible release dates
For the moment, the only thing officially confirmed is that Filming has already begun in Italy. Production is in its initial stages, with filming taking place on sets and locations. Various sources indicate that filming will continue for several months, with a potentially lengthy post-production phase due to the extensive use of visual effects.
Netflix has not yet made a statement. an approximate release dateThis is common in projects of this scale until filming is well underway and the promotional campaign is planned. Given the filming and post-production schedules for a historical series with extensive digital recreation, a medium-term release is the most reasonable approach.
It is expected that more will be revealed in the coming months. More details about the characters, the first official images, and possible teasersThe number of episodes in the first season could also be clarified, as well as the specific structure of the story and the weight that the more fantastical elements linked to the traditional lore of the franchise will have.
Meanwhile, the series remains as one of the most eye-catching television projects on the horizon for the followers of Assassin's Creed, fans of historical fiction and those looking for large-format proposals with plots of conspiracies and power struggles set in Europe.
With filming underway, a large cast already confirmed, and a creative team experienced in genre television, the live-action adaptation of Assassin's Creed It faces its first steps with a combination of prudence and ambition: it relies on a well-known universe, distances itself from the previous cinematic foray, and opts for Rome in 64 AD as the setting to relaunch the secret war between factions that millions of players and viewers around the world have been following for years.
