Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the film production studio founded a few years ago by video game company Ubisoft, is getting ready to roll out a series of movies based on its most popular properties, starting with Assassin's Creed. The film, which will be a new story based on the universe outlined in the games, will star Michael Fassbender in the lead role and will be directed by Justin Kurzel, who previously worked with Fassbender on Shakespeare adaptation MacBeth.

The Assassin's Creed games blend historical drama and sci-fi, and are set partially in the modern day and partially in different periods of history. Central to the over-arching story is a centuries-old conflict between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order, and a device called the Animus which enables people to relive the memories of their ancestors.

Earlier today we reported that Assassin's Creed has officially been given the green light by Ubisoft's partner New Regency, and it looks like things are already moving ahead fast as Deadline reports that Fassbender's MacBeth co-star Marion Cotillard has been cast in a role that, like Fassbender's, is intended to span several films - assuming the first one is successful enough to warrant a sequel.

Cotillard recently received her second Academy Award nomination for her leading role in Two Days, One Night. She was first nominated (and won) in 2008 for her role as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, though sci-fi fans might remember her better for her roles in Inception and The Dark Knight Rises.

The nature of Cotillard's role is being kept under wraps for now, but rumors about the film's storyline that emerged last year claimed that Michael Fassbender's modern-day character will be a death row inmate called Michael Lynch, who is being put through Animus experiments by one of the film's villains, but is aided by an Assassin called Lara. It's possible, therefore, that Cotillard could be playing Michael's Assassin ally.

A recurring trope in the games is romance between Assassins and Templars, and it wouldn't be surprising if this crossed over into the film as well. If that does happen, Cotillard and Fassbender may find themselves acting out another troubled on-screen relationship.

Assassin's Creed is in theaters on December 21st, 2016.

Source: Deadline