Michael Fassbender to Star in Film Adaptation of Assassin's Creed

Last October Sony announced it had acquired the rights to the film adaptation of the popular Assassin's Creed series of video games.

We haven't heard much about the project since then, but today (via Variety) we're hearing the project is moving forward with Michael Fassbender set to star. Sony is apparently out of the picture, as it were, for now, with the games' developer, Ubisoft, financing the film independently.

The current games in the series are set in the near future and feature bartender Desmond Miles, a descendent in a line of Assassins, who is kidnapped and forced to relive memories of his ancestors with the goal of learning the location of powerful artifacts. The games' overall storyline is reportedly inspired by the 1938 novel Alamut by Vladimir Bartol.

The first two series were set during the periods of, respectively, the Third Crusade and Renaissance. The third series, due out this October, introduces a new character — Connor Kenway — and is set during the American Revolutionary War; you can watch a trailer for the game below.