It may not have a lot of hype behind it yet (in fact, I keep forgetting it exists), but the Assassin’s Creed movie continues to pick up steam, rounding out its cast with an Oscar Award-winning actress.
Deadline reports that Marion Cotillard has been cast in the upcoming movie, joining Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender and director Justin Kurzel. Interestingly, that entire trio have already worked on a film together, an upcoming British adaptation of Macbeth. That movie is slated to arrive later this year, with Fassbender as Macbeth, Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, and Kurzel directing.
Marion Cotillard… that name is super familiar, but I can’t remember what I’ve seen her in before.
Aside from a cameo in Anchorman 2, her last big Hollywood role was The Dark Knight Rises, where she played Miranda Tate. Before that, you may have seen her in Contagion, Midnight in Paris, Public Enemies, or another Nolan film, Inception.
She’s mostly known for her roles in non-blockbuster movies though, including a turn as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, for which she won her Oscar, along with a BAFTA and Golden Globe. She scored a second Academy Award nomination last year for the French film Two Days, One Night.
What the heck is she doing in a video game movie?
Now that’s the question. Granted, she did break some new ground for herself with a comic book movie in The Dark Knight Rises, but that was more likely due to Christopher Nolan than any love she had for the source material.
Optimistically, one can hope that Cotillard signing on is a sign that the script for the movie is pretty damn good. After all, she’s a highly regarded actress, and aside from that aforementioned scene in Anchorman, she’s never really displayed a love for big budget action movies (or action movies in general, really).
So… could this be the first video game to movie adaptation that’s taken seriously?
It’s entirely possible, although way too early to say. Historically, video game adaptations have almost always been action movies, awful movies, or both. It would certainly be interesting to see one that manages to also be a great bit of storytelling.
Who will Cotillard be playing in Assassin’s Creed?
There’s no word on her specific character, but given that she’s the film’s second bit of casting, I would guess it’s a pretty big role. Deadline adds that if the film takes off and there is a sequel, she would be expected to return.
With that in mind, I’m going to go with the movie-version equivalent of Maria, Altair’s fellow assassin and love interest in the game series. I highly doubt it will be a direct adaptation of the character, but something along those lines.
When is this movie coming out?
We’ll be seeing it in just under two years on December 21, 2016.
