Assassin's Creed Movie Director Talks "Heart and History" of the Franchise

Video game movies have a history of questionable quality, and there is no guarantee that the upcoming Assassin's Creed film will buck the trend. But director Justin Kurzel thinks Assassin's Creed could make a good movie because of its deep, historical story full of intrigue and spectacle.

"Because I think there's so much underneath it," Kurzel told IGN when asked why he thinks Assassin's Creed might make a good movie. "I don't think it's your typical shoot-em-up game. I don't think it's your typical one-dimensional game. It has a heart and a history to it."

Kurzel went on to say that the "human" part of Assassin's Creed's story might help the movie be appealing to a wide audience.

"The whole idea of memories and the whole idea of we are made up of who comes before us and within us we carry the DNA of our ancestors and we have access to those ancestors and they somehow speak to who we are now--that is just an incredibly strong, human kind of curious thing, so I think that there is something there that's really original and really fresh and it's no wonder it has 90 million players," he said. "There's got to be something more than just the fun of playing it. There's definitely a culture to it that people really respond to."

The Assassin's Creed movie begins shooting later this year ahead of its expected release in December 2016. It stars veteran, esteemed actors Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and Michael K. Williams.

Kurzel's latest movie, a new version of the Shakespeare classic Macbeth, opens in theaters in October. The movie stars Fassbender and Cotillard in the lead roles.

Assassin's Creed is one of more than a dozen video game movie projects currently in development. Check out GameSpot's new image gallery to learn about the others.