Assassin's Creed Netflix series signs on Die Hard writer

Assassin's Creed Valhalla
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The Assassin's Creed Netflix series will be written by Jeb Stuart, whose work you're already familiar with if you enjoy films about crawling through air ducts and stealing machine guns.

According to Variety, Netflix has tapped Die Hard writer Jeb Stuart to pen its new "genre-bending live-action adaptation" of Ubisoft's historical fiction series. Naturally, Stuart has worked on a fair few projects since Die Hard hit the screen in 1988 - perhaps most relevant to fans of the latest Assassin's Creed, that list includes Vikings: Valhalla for Netflix. He also wrote The Fugitive, establishing a solid pattern of action one-liners - though I've just learned that Tommy Lee Jones himself came up with the "I don't care!" line in that all-time great tunnel scene, so I guess we can't thank Stuart for that one.

Netflix announced the Assassin's Creed live-action series in October, with a brief teaser trailer and confirmation that a pair of Ubisoft's own entertainment leads are serving as executive producers on the project. It hasn't revealed any official details about when the series will take place or who it will be about, and Stuart is the first big announcement we've heard about the cast and crew so far.

Now, with most video game adaptations, we could jump straight to speculating about which characters will be played by whom, but the Assassin's Creed lore spans pretty much all of known history. References to the opening bars of the song Ezio's Family in the initial teaser trailer does lightly hint that it may revisit renaissance Italy, but on the other hand, that particular musical motif has also become semi-synonymous with the entire franchise, so it's far from a sure thing.

The live-action series is just one part of Netflix's deal with Ubisoft, which also covers adaptations in the form of animated series. Of course, this isn't the first time Assassin's Creed has gone live action - though if you already forgot about the 2016 film starring Michael Fassbender, you're probably not alone.

We don't know when the new series is set to debut, but if you want something new to watch it on, you should stay tuned to our Prime Day TV deals.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Read more
Cover art for Assassin's Creed Mirage: A Soar of Eagles.
Assassin's Creed Mirage: A Soar of Eagles is a new prequel comic about the young Fuladh defending his homeland
An assassin on the roof of Assassin's Creed Codename Red
Upcoming Assassin's Creed games: Every new Assassin's Creed game in development
Sifu header
A Sifu movie is in the works at Netflix from the John Wick director
Assassin's Creed Hexe news
Assassin's Creed Hexe: Everything we know about the new flagship AC game
Assassin's Creed Odyssey screenshot
After replaying the best Assassin's Creed RPG, I hope Shadows uses the series' strengths to separate itself from Ghost of Tsushima
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Shadows Japanese voice actor says applying his native language to an English script about Japan was "an unusual and interesting experience"
Latest in Netflix
Black Mirror season 7
First trailer for Black Mirror season 7 teases USS Callister sequel and the return of Will Poulter's Bandersnatch character
Adolescence
Peaky Blinders star Stephen Graham's new Netflix one-shot crime drama is out now, and it has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
Chris Pratt in The Electric State
The Electric State post-credits scene: does the Russo brothers' new Netflix movie have a post-credits scene?
Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Netflix wants Daniel Craig to join the cast of Greta Gerwig's Narnia movie – but it's not certain if he'll take it
Nicole Kidman in The Perfect Couple
Nicole Kidman’s hit Netflix show could be returning for another season, but she won’t be coming back
Kevin Conroy
Devil May Cry TV show creator calls Kevin Conroy's posthumous role in the Netflix series an "amazingly nuanced performance" and confirms "no AI" was used
Latest in News
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
The Final Fantasy series has sold a whopping 200 million copies, while the Pixel Remaster reportedly outsells FF16 with 5 million copies sold
Nintendo Switch 2, dock and TV
Nintendo Switch 2 could cost $400-$500, say analysts, but it might launch with a Super Mario Odyssey follow-up and Metroid Prime 4
Silent Hill f
Famed Higurashi When They Cry creator Ryukishi07 says he worked so hard on the Silent Hill f story that "I don't think I would mind if it was the last thing I ever wrote"
Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors devs launch official wiki "free of ads, banners, and all of the junk that gets in your way," joining Stardew Valley and Terraria in community wikis with minimal intrusions
Gachiakuta season 1 promo art featuring Rudo
The anime for stylish action manga Gachiakuta will be a Crunchyroll exclusive, and the hit series could be the next big shonen star
WalkScape
"Staying MTX and advertisement free is absolutely key": Almost 20 years later, RuneScape fan turns his MMO love into an old-school RPG where fitness is the grind