Robert Downey Jr. Joins ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Film?
We got some strange and unexpected news coming from the Robert Downey Jr. front this week. According to a now-deleted post from Movie Pilot, Downey has signed on for the role of Leonardo Da Vinci in the new adaptation of Ubisoft’s triple A video game series, Assassin’s Creed (via IGN).
It seems like a wonderful piece of news for the upcoming film franchise, but what does the deletion of the post mean regarding its accuracy? As with all rumors, it’s always best to take it with a grain of salt, and while IGN states the article said Robert Downey Jr. signed on, without any other proof, it’s essentially another rumor.
As far as the actual article’s accuracy, it can go either way. Either the site posted the piece of news ahead of schedule, or they posted something they just posted an entirely inaccurate piece. Not much help, overall, and it only increases confusion. That being said, now that Robert Downey Jr.’s name has been added to the Assassin’s Creed hat, it’s worth discussing.
Assassin’s Creed is a project that Michael Fassbender of X-Men and Shame fame has been championing the project as producer for the past two years, but up until now the details regarding the film have been limited. So what does this Robert Downey Jr. rumor give us? If he’s playing the role of Da Vinci, it gives us a clue as to the basis of the film itself, as the artist was first shown in Assassin’s Creed II (via Cinema Blend). If they plan to stay consistent to the main continuity of the video games (which, let’s face it, isn’t necessarily the way they need to go), then it’s possible that the films will follow the storyline of Ezio, who was the protagonist in the games Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. If they plan to have Ezio as the main protagonist of the films, then the probability is high that Michael Fassbender himself will be taking on the role of the noble.
Assassin’s Creed will be Hollywood’s latest attempt to successfully adapt an existing video game property to the big screen–something that generally hasn’t been successful in the past (unless you count the Resident Evil movies, which have their own unique brand of quality). In a world full of comic book and superhero movies, it’s clear that Ubisoft is trying to find the next big thing in Hollywood before it hits, thereby leading the inevitable onslaught of video game flicks that will follow, and perhaps hiring a big star like Robert Downey Jr. is the first step in the process.
