Assassin's Creed Featurette: Templars vs. Assassins

A new featurette for Assassin's Creed was released online today by 20th Century Fox. The video features stars Marian Cotillard and Michael Fassbender discussing the ins and outs of the core mythology to Assassin's Creed: the war between the Templars and the Assassins.

"Assassin's and Templars have been at war for centuries," we hear Cotillard saying in-character in voice over to start. Fassbender, who plays both Callum Lynch in the modern day storyline and his own ancestor the assassin Aguilar in the past of 15th Century Spain, then goes into what makes these two groups clash so much.

"The Assassins believe that above all else, mankind should have free will," the actor explains. "The Templars are more interested in power, and a way to control humanity," Cotillard adds.

Cotillard plays one of the lead Templars, Dr. Sophia Rikkin in the modern day, trying to trick Lynch into revealing the location of a powerful artifact called an Apple of Eden by making him relive his ancestor's story.

"Assassins are making sure that freedom is still protected and cherished," Fassbender said of hte modern day storyline. "The concept of Assassins and Templars battling through the centuries is a fantastic cinematic experience. It's original and inventive."

The film is based on the popular video game franchise from Ubisoft, but doesn't adapt any of the games' stories. Instead, it tells a new story with new characters set within the world created by the games. Other media, like comic books and novels, have done similar, adding to the mythos in-canon rather than simply adapting the popular game stories. That doesn't mean fans shouldn't expect to see some familiar faces from the games here. For example, Jeremy Irons plays Abstergo (the Templars modern-day company front) head Alan Rikkin, and reports say Ezio Auditore has at least a brief cameo in the movie.

Assassin's Creed stars Academy Award® nominee Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past, 12 Years a Slave) and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises, La Vie en Rose). The film is directed by Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Macbeth); produced by New Regency, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, DMC Films and Kennedy/Marshall; co-financed by RatPac Entertainment and Alpha Pictures; and distributed by 20th Century Fox.Assassin's Creed opens in theaters worldwide on December 21st, 2016.