As we all know, videogame adaptations have a chequered history.

Actually no, it's not chequered - it's been roundly crap. Although some have become so-bad-they're-good entries (looking at you, Street Fighter), others have just so clearly missed the mark that you'd forget they had anything to do with the source material (looking RIGHT at you, Hitman).

Anyway, that hopefully will change in 2016 with both Warcraft and Assassin's Creed in the works and looking pretty damn good at this point. Michael Fassbender was recently interviewed on the topic of his project, Assassin's Creed, and had more than a few exciting things to say about the film adaptation. "I’ve always thought about The Matrix when we’ve approached this. This idea of DNA memory elevates it from a basic fantasy genre (piece), because you have something an audience can actually believe in. Then the journey becomes so much more elevated, because you’re on board in a different way."

As we reported a while back, the producers are likening Assassin's Creed's cinematography and feel to Batman Begins and Blade Runner, which again has us worked up even more. That should come as a surprise as Justin Kurzel, the director behind last year's beautifully-shot adaptation of Macbeth, is working his magic on this.

As well as this, Assassin's Creed appears to eschewing CGI effects and the like for more practical sets and real stunts. As Fassbender describes it, there are "stunt guys jumping across buildings in Valletta. We’ve got (stunt performer) Damian Walters doing a 120-foot leap of faith, without any rope, into a bag, so it’s pretty incredible to see." There's been no early screenings yet and, by the looks of things, the film is probably still in production.

It'll have stiff competition in its December 21st release date as it's squaring up to Star Wars: Rogue One, which is released a week earlier. If Assassin's Creed, along with Warcraft, do the box-office business that the studios are hoping for, we'll see a ton of videogame adaptations go into production. Avi Arad, the producer behind X-Men, Spider-Man and, uh, Blade: Trinity, has been trying to put together a Metal Gear Solid film for some time now. If he can demonstrate to major studios that there's potential in giving videogame films a shot, we could see a Metal Gear Solid film in the next couple of years.

Here's hoping.

 

Via Empire