Michael Fassbender to star in and co-produce 'Assassin's Creed' movie

Michael Fassbender

Credit: AP Photo/Jonathan Short

Could Michael Fassbender star in the first great movie based on a video game?

The "X-Men: First Class" and "Prometheus" star who recently made the award season rounds with sex addiction drama "Shame" has signed on to co-produce and play the lead role in "Assassin's Creed" for Ubisoft Motion Pictures.

The gaming franchise focuses on the descendant of a long line of ace assassins, who is kidnapped by the Knights Templar and accesses memories of the past to prevent the end of the world.

Although there is no director, writer or studio currently attached -- and it's not even clear how closely the film's plot will follow the games -- Fassbender's involvement should speed up the process and provide a reason for fans to be optimistic about how the project is shaping up.

"Michael Fassbender was our first choice," Ubisoft Motion Pictures CEO Jean-Julien Baronnet told Variety, who broke the story. "Michael is an extremely smart, talented, versatile and committed actor."

Fassbender's upcoming roles include reuniting with "Shame" director Steve McQueen for period piece "Twelve Years a Slave," "Prometheus" director Ridley Scott for drug trafficking drama "The Counselor," and the sequel to "X-Men: First Class."

Geoff Berkshire
Contributor

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Geoff Berkshire lives in Los Angeles and writes about film and television. His work has appeared in Variety, the L.A. Times, and Premiere, among other publications. He is the former national entertainment editor and film critic for Metromix.com.