Talks are underway with Justin Kurzel to direct the upcoming Assassin's Creed film, Deadline reports.
Kurzel is relatively unknown, having only directed a few projects to date. Most recently, he worked on a film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender--set to play the lead role in the Assassin's Creed film--in the eponymous role of Macbeth.
According to Deadline, New Regency and Ubisoft Motion Pictures have yet to sign Kurzel to a deal, "but they are eager to get this film started, so it'll come soon."
The Assassin's Creed movie has been in the works for some time now. Fassbender, known best for his roles in movies such as Prometheus, Inglorious Basterds, X-Men: First Class, and 12 Years a Slave, has been attached since mid-2012. (He's never played the games, if you're wondering.) Later that year, the movie was fast-tracked, and soon after playwright Michael Lesslie was brought on as a writer.
The movie was reportedly set for release in May 2015, but was delayed late last year until August 7, 2015. We recently learned the movie will be re-written by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, though whether that will push the release even further back is unknown.
Assassin's Creed is just one of six Ubisoft properties the company is attempting to base a movie on, the others being Ghost Recon, Watch Dogs, Far Cry, Splinter Cell, and Rayman's Rabbids. Films based on games are notorious for falling apart before they are released, so it remains to be seen how many of these will actually come to fruition.
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