Michael Fassbender Never Played ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Before Agreeing To Star In The Movie

Michael Fassbender is the perfect actor to play Callum Lynch (not Desmond Miles), the main character of the Assassin’s Creed movie. He’s got the acting chops to bounce back and forth between time periods, can pull off a potpourri of accents, speak multiple languages, and he disappears into his roles like an assassin blends into crowds before (and after) a kill.

Now that the first official image of Fassbender as an Assassin fighting for the fate of the world has been released by Entertainment Weekly, it’s soothing for a fan of the series to know that their series is in the loving hands of a fellow gamer, right? He’s been playing the AC games since Desmond first popped up in those early years of the Xbox 360 and PS3, right? He’s lived with the highs and the lows of the epic-but-confusing-as-hell storyline involving the Knights Templar and pretty much every historical figure to ever be taught in a basic history class… RIGHT?

Nope. Fassbender isn’t much of a gamer, and he never touched the Assassin’s Creed games before signing on for the role. Nerd rage, commence! Or maybe you should let the Inglorious Basterds and Prometheus star explain himself?

“I hadn’t played it before these guys approached me. I’ve played it since [being offered the job] mainly to get an idea of the physicality of the character. We’re striving to find something special. We believe the whole concept around it is special and want to service that the best we can. The fans are really passionate: very specific and they expect accuracy and historical detail. We’re really trying to capitalize and feed on and enjoy the fun element. We’re working hard to make this something special.”

So it looks like he knows the gravity of the situation. Assassin’s Creed may be flawed, and every other game may be underwhelming, but the series on the whole is an extremely fun take on the open world adventure genre. It’s got stealth, action, and a cool story. It’s a good gaming series! Michael Fassbender dug it without even playing the games, so it should be a good movie too.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)