Netflix Attaches Major Talent to 'Assassin’s Creed' Show

Netflix has acquired a showrunner for its live-action Assassin's Creed series — Jeb Stuart. Sources close to the production told Variety on Wednesday that Stuart will be writing and heading up the video game adaptation. The news came with no new details on the show itself.

Stuart is a screenwriting legend known for action hits like Die Hard and The Fugitive, among others. More recently, he created the Netflix series Vikings: Valhalla, building on the History Channel series Vikings. While Valhalla still hasn't been released, it sounds like Netflix was pleased enough with Stuart to land another huge gig. So far, Netflix and Stuart have not confirmed the report or commented publicly on it, but an executive from Ubisoft did speak on the record.

"We really were excited about him because he's part of the Netflix family already," said Danielle Kreinik, head of television development at Ubisoft Film and TV. "He's got a breadth of knowledge when it comes to history, so he is the right person, we felt, because he really understands historical drama, and we think he's going to be a great asset to the Assassin's Creed universe."

Netflix and Ubisoft reached a huge deal to produce Assassin's Creed content back in October, including this live-action series, an animated series and an anime-style animated series. These will all build on the stories set out in the Assassin's Creed video games since 2007.

Assassin's Creed is a science fiction/fantasy series about two rival secret societies — the "Assassins" and the "Templars." Both are after powerful artifacts called "Pieces of Eden," and to find them, modern-day Assassins use a machine called the "Animus" to relive the genetic memories of his predecessors, creating a split timeline where players experience historical and modern settings.

There have been 12 games in the main series of Assassin's Creed, plus 12 spinoffs, including some made just for mobile apps. The franchise has also been adapted into board games, novels, comic books, short films and one audio drama released last year. There's no denying that a dedicated fandom exists for any new content that gets produced.

The franchise was already relatively successfully adapted to the screen in 2016, when Michael Fassbender starred in a movie version. It grossed over $240 million on a $125 million budget, but it did not spawn any sequels. Hopefully, the Netflix series can fill that gap for fans. There is no release date for Netflix's Assassin's Creed series yet.