Michael Fassbender's big-screen adaptation of the "Assassin's Creed" video game series gets an update in the form of a script rewrite to be spearheaded by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, according to an article on Deadline.
Cooper and Collage are known for their most recent work, "Exodus: Gods and Kings," which is a biblical film directed by Ridley Scott. "Gods and Kings" will center on the story of Moses and how he led the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Christian Bale is set to play the biblical character.
The involvement of the two screenwriters in the video game-based film marks the second rewrite for "Assassin's Creed." When the film adaptation was first announced, Michael Lesslie was appointed to write the script. But in 2013, Bleeding Cool reported that "Minority Report" and "The Wolverine" screenplay writer Scott Frank was recruited to rewrite Lesslie's original work.
Aside from the rewrites, the film also suffered delays in the projected release dates. It was originally scheduled for May 22, 2015, but was pushed back to June 19. Then, after Frank joined the production, the release of the film was delayed one more to August 7 of next year. There are no reports yet whether the film will get a new release date following reports of Cooper and Collage's involvement in the film.
The "Assassin's Creed" film is a collaborative project between Ubisoft, 20th Century Fox and New Regency. Fassbender is set to co-produce and star in it.
Interestingly, the "12 Years A Slave" star is not a video game fan and has never played "Assassin's Creed."
As for his reasons for joining the film project, he told the Daily Beast in an interview, "That's definitely happening. We're just developing the script at the moment. I'd heard of it but had never played the game. I don't have a video game player...that's not what they're called...I met up with the guys from Ubisoft and they told me the story behind it, and I though it was very interesting - the idea of reliving memories."