There is a lot of potential with the Assassin’s Creed series, as its overarching narrative is such that it has lasted for over a decade with no signs of stopping. The 2016 movie tried to branch the fictional universe into live-action, but its failure has resulted in some questioning if a sequel should even be made. But, this discussion was rendered meaningless when a TV series was announced.
Now that the show has been commissioned, there are a lot of plotlines from the games that can be used in this form of media. However, there are also storylines that haven’t been well received. These need to be avoided both in the narrative as well as the general outline they bring.
Juno's Intentions To Take Over
While there are many characters fans want to see transition from the games to the TV series, Juno isn’t likely to be one of them. She frequently popped up in the Desmond Saga, revealing in Assassin’s Creed III that she had orchestrated events in such a way that she could now take over the world after Desmond’s death.
Nothing came out of this in the end, as Juno was killed off in a comic book story instead. Fans haven’t taken kindly to this fact, as it rendered the storylines of multiple games useless. Due to this, the TV series needs to steer clear of bringing this angle back since it’ll be dead on arrival.
Desmond Being The Father Of A Sage
This is currently an unanswered question that might be answered in the future. However, it’s also been unfavorably received due to the Sage storyline itself one that fans aren’t too fond of. Desmond having a son who’s a sage was revealed in the modern-day subplot of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
Due to the poor execution of the presentation of this big piece of information, it’s not something that the games themselves have expanded upon. Adapting it into the TV series will mess with viewers since it requires a lot of exposition, along with creating an entire arc around Sages.
The Main Character Forced To Work For Abstergo
Although this is how the series began, it’s since become so played out that fans have grown tired of it altogether. This is why the Helix Player Saga was unfavorably received, as the modern-day storylines were a chore as players had to work for Abstergo in boring missions.
The 2016 movie also brought this forward and failed at it as well. With this in mind, the TV show has to avoid adapting this story once again, especially since fans tend to lose interest as soon as this angle is presented, be it the games or in live-action.
Daniel Cross' Brainwashing
Assassin’s Creed III brought Daniel Cross as an agent for Abstergo, who was subsequently revealed to be a man brainwashed into a state of total breakdown. The reception to this story has been negative due to the unfair treatment of Cross and how he was killed like a generic villain.
Since fans never really connected to this plotline, it will be the wrong move to include Cross in the story. It would also confirm the TV series to be set in the past, meaning viewers will reject it, as the future has already been shown in the games.
Setting The Backdrop During A Revolution
The games that have had the most potential to be adapted into movies don’t count the revolution background as the stronger contenders. That’s because it steers attention away from the main storyline, as well as the fact that people already know what’s going to happen.
Assassin’s Creed III’s main story was criticized due to this, with arguments between which country was good and which one was bad during the American Revolution needlessly dividing the fanbase. In this era of social media, this backdrop is bound to create more controversy for a story that’s not very interesting to begin with.
The Hunt For The Precursor Artifact
Assassin’s Creed fans haven’t shown much interest in stories that feature characters running around after a MacGuffin. More so than that, the fact that the Precursor story had a Templar as the hero and portrayed assassins in a negative light didn’t prove too popular either, as the games have since excluded such a story.
Setting the main story around the hunt for the Precursor won’t bring many eyes to the series, and the arc was already abandoned in the games after Assassin’s Creed Rogue. Adapting it will instead feel unoriginal and seem like a lazy way to set the plotline based on a MacGuffin.
The Rikkin Family's Templar Influence
There are already a bunch of mistakes made by the 2016 movie the TV series needs to avoid, one of them being the continuation of the Rikkin family story. The movie was criticized for indulging in the Templar father-daughter duo, as it was rather generic and didn’t align with the assassins plotline either.
With more dangerous Templars already shown in the game, placing the Rikkins as the baddies will end up lowering the stakes for the TV series. Not to mention that it will entail bringing back characters that didn’t click with fans in the first place.
The Main Characters Huddled In A Bunker
This is a framing device most of the Assassin’s Creed games have used, with understandably mixed results. It reached its peak with Assassin’s Creed III and Ubisoft tried to change it with the Helix Player Saga. When that didn’t work, the games returned to this setting, albeit still with mixed-to-negative reception.
It will be even worse for the TV series, since the content of the show will be restricted to the events that happen in the bunker. The Animus might take up the bulk of the story, but placing the modern-day aspect only in the bunker will bring forward the same criticism the games have met in this regard.
Templar And Assassin Love Story
In some ways, the Assassin’s Creed series is comparable to Game of Thrones, with love stories between characters that are doomed to fail. This happened between the assassin Arno Dorian and the Templar Elise de la Serre in Assassin’s Creed Unity, which remains the worst-received game in the series.
Part of the reason why fans didn’t like the story was that it was a foregone conclusion that the lovers wouldn’t be able to find a way to coexist despite their love. This is exactly what happened, as Elise perished, and an adaptation of such a love story will sound boring to most fans.
The First Civilization Presented As Mythological Figures
Just when people thought Assassin’s Creed Odyssey had material worthy of memes, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla upped the ante by bringing a Nordic interpretation of the First Civilization. What fans didn’t like about this story was how it turned out to be a simulation, meaning their perception of the Isu was changed for no reason other than for a plot twist.
Within the interpretation of a TV series, such a twist won’t sit well with viewers, as it will change the context of the show up until that point. There’s also the fact that this story has been used in the games already, meaning the shock value won’t have any impact either.