At long last, fans have their first look at Assassin's Creed.
The first trailer for Ubisoft's long-awaited video game adaptation debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday, giving fans their first glimpse at Michael Fassbender playing the dual role of Callum Lynch and Aguilar—blood relatives separated by a few hundred years and connected via sci-fi technology. "Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain," according to the 20th Century Fox film's synopsis. "Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day."
Directed by Justin Kurzel, the film also stars Marion Cotillard as Sophia Rikkin, Brendan Gleeson as Callum Lynch's father, Jeremy Irons as Alan Rikkin, Ariane Labed as Maria and Michael K. Williams as Moussa. The trailer uses Kanye West's "I Am a God" as its soundtrack.
The action-adventure video game series, which began in 2007, has transported gamers to various points throughout history. But Fassbender was somewhat unfamiliar with the franchise when he signed on to star in the film. "I just thought that there was a great cinematic story in the ethos behind the game, this idea of Assassins and Templars. It's not like your Star Wars franchise where you have the light and the dark side," he told Empire. "This is a very muddled-up moral ground." (Ironically, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters a week before Assassin's Creed.) Fassbender was also impressed with Kurzel's vision for the film. "There's very little green screen in this, which is highly unusual in these films. We have stunt guys jumping across buildings in Valletta," he said. British freerunner Damien Walters and others brought their derring-do and parkour skills to set. "Damien did a 120-foot leap of faith, without any rope, into a bag, so it's pretty incredible to see," said Fassbender, who did a few of his own stunts, too. "I learned how to roly-poly, tumble turn," he laughed. "Basic fight choreography."
Fassbender drew inspiration from other films to prepare. "I've always thought about The Matrix when we've approached this. This idea of DNA memory elevates it from a basic fantasy genre [piece], because you have something an audience can actually believe in," he explained. "Then the journey becomes so much more elevated, because you're on board in a different way."
Assassin's Creed is in theaters Dec. 21, 2016.