Here's the ending to the 2016 Assassin's Creed movie explained, and its bleaker alternate finale. Video game movie adaptations have to be one of the most maligned subgenres in cinema - and often with good reason. The very first was 1993's Super Mario Bros, a box-office dud greeted with awful reviews that turned Nintendo off making movies out of their games for over two decades. For every entertaining adaptation like Mortal Kombat, there are five disasters like Doom.
It seemed the genre was finally due to receive some critical respect with 2016's Assassin's Creed, judging from the line-up of talent alone. The Assassin's Creed movie cast Michael Fassbender as Cal Lynch and his ancestor Aguilar de Nerha, in addition to Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons and Brendan Gleeson. That's a classy list for a video game adaptation, but sadly, the movie's self-serious tone and slack pacing led to middling reviews and box-office. While a franchise was planned, its lukewarm reaction soon made it clear the Assassin's Creed movie sequel wasn't happening.
The Assassin's Creed movie still has its fans, however, so it's a shame it didn't quite hit the mark. The story has a dual narrative, with the present-day one following Fassbender's Cal, who after being sentenced to death for killing a pimp, is taken in by the Abstergo Foundation. They seek to unlock Cal's genetic memories of his ancestor Aguilar de Nerha - which takes up the movie's other timeline - an assassin who was the last known historical figure in possession of the Apple of Eden. Alan Rikkin (Jeremy Irons), a member of the modern Knights Templar, seeks the Apple as he believes it will help his order take away free will from humanity, and control their violent impulses.
Another major character in the Assassin's Creed movie is Rikkin's scientist daughter Sofia (Marion Cotillard), who believes in her father's dream of a peaceful world. To unlock Aguilar's memories, Cal is strapped into the Animus device that lets him relive his ancestor's past. Cal gets to viscerally experience his ancestor's battles in 15th Century Spain - including the game's iconic Leap of Faith dive - while inheriting his combat abilities. Cal befriends other assassin descendants in the facility too, including Shao Jun (Michelle H. Lin) and Moussa (Michael K. Williams).
Cal also learns more about his past, including that his parents were members of the Assassin's Order. Naturally, the Abstergo Foundation's goals to control mankind isn't a good thing, and the Assassin's Creed finale sees Cal joining in a riot by other assassin descendants to escape the facility, and after a bloody battle with guards, only he, Lin and Moussa survive. The Apple is also retrieved from Christopher Columbus' vault - who Aguilar entrusted it to - and Alan prepares to give a speech at a Templar sanctuary celebrity their find. Cal arrives and a reluctant Sofia - disgusted by her father's actions - doesn't stop him as he kills Rikkon and the Assassins retrieve the Apple.
While the Assassin's Creed movie ends with Cal having some allies in Lin and Moussa, this wasn't the original plan. A bleaker alternate ending featured the assassin's being overwhelmed while escaping the facility, with both Lin and Moussa also being killed by guards and only Cal managing to escape. Test audiences didn't like this outcome, however, so the scene was re-edited and the movie now ends with the three of them united to protect the Apple.