Assassin's Creed is a 2016 historical science fiction action film[9] based on the video game franchise published by Ubisoft.

The film is set in the same universe as the video games but features an original story that expands the series' mythology.

Cal's ancestor, Aguilar de Nerha, was a member of the Assassin Brotherhood—a fictional organization inspired by the real-life Order of Assassins—active during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th-century, who swore to protect the Apple of Eden, an artifact believed to contain the key to humanity's free will.

Cal must accept his Assassin heritage and stop Abstergo, the Templar Order of the modern-day, from finding the Apple and using it to enslave humanity.

It generally received negative reviews from critics that were primarily aimed towards the plot and writing,[10] though some considered it an improvement over previous video game film adaptations.

[12] A sequel was planned, but due to the film's negative reception and disappointing box office result, it was cancelled by Disney after its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019.

Gunmen led by Alan Rikkin, CEO of the Templars' Abstergo Foundation, arrive to capture Joseph, who persuades his son to escape.

In 2016, Cal is sentenced to death for murdering a pimp, but Abstergo fakes his execution and takes him to their research facility in Madrid.

Back in the Animus, Aguilar and María are scheduled for execution at an auto da fe but he manages to free them, leading to a rooftop chase in which they escape through a "Leap of Faith".

Meanwhile, Alan is pressed by a Templar Elder, Ellen Kaye, to shut down the multibillion-dollar Animus Project because they have already "won ... people no longer care about their civil liberties ... they're content to follow", leading Sofia to question her father's true intentions.

Persuaded by his mother, Cal embraces his Assassin heritage and, having fully assimilated Aguilar's abilities, joins Moussa and Lin in escaping the facility.

Having retrieved the Apple from Columbus' burial vault, the Templars convene at a ceremony in their London sanctuary to celebrate their triumph.

Sony was able to still distribute the film, but Ubisoft Motion Pictures would not resume talks until packaging the project with a writer and director.

[36] In January 2014, a LinkedIn profile for executive producer Fannie Pailloux stated filming was scheduled to begin in August 2014.

[28] Producers on the film include Baronnet, Patrick Crowley, Fassbender, Marshall, Conor McCaughan, and Arnon Milchan.

[25] Initially thought to be cast as recurring protagonist Desmond Miles, Ubisoft clarified in July 2012 that Fassbender would play a different character instead.

[57] The Abstergo compound in the film features an artifact room that holds an assortment of weapons from the games beyond the traditional Assassin wrist blades.

Fassbender also stated that Ubisoft was "very keen" about elements being created for the film, and were considering incorporating them into future games.

[12] In North America, Assassin's Creed opened alongside Sing and Passengers, and was initially expected to gross $25–35 million from 2,902 theaters over its first six days of release.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Assassin's Creed is arguably better made (and certainly better cast) than most video game adaptations; unfortunately, the CGI-fueled end result is still a joylessly overplotted slog.

But then getting Fassbender to slap a coat of Dulux on the wall of his hi-tech prison cell and monitoring the progressive moisture-loss would be more exciting.

"[72] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph was equally scathing, saying, "For everyone who thought Dan Brown's conspiracy novels were just lacking a spot of parkour, Assassin's Creed might be your favourite film of the year.

"[73] David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a B−, and said "declaring this to be the best video game movie ever made is the kind of backhanded compliment that sounds like hyperbole, but the description fits the bill on both counts".