With the official Assassin’s Creed movie set to debut later this year, the marketing machinery is beginning to spool up. The latest effort by the production company to advertise the Michael Fassbender vehicle is a new poster which features his assassin ancestor standing tall atop a viewpoint, much like you do in the game to open up new quests and other content in an area.
Viewpoints are an important component of the Assassin’s Creed games. They provide a challenge for the player to climb atop the tower, spire or other structure, and make it possible to find missions, shops, and other important points of interest in an area. However they also serve another purpose: showing the players how pretty the game is.
As challenging as the task of climbing towers can be, towers also offer a great opportunity to showcase how good the game engine looks, and they make for great game trailer moments, too.
Not too unlike what’s being done with this movie poster.
The image of the Assassin character standing atop the tallest point in the city is not just iconic. This pose is typically the one performed by the player just before making a “Leap of Faith,” where they dive from a high point into a surprisingly cushioning bale of hay far below.
If we were to get into a discussion of symbolism, we might say that the fans of the series may feel like they are making a leap of faith when watching the movie, but in reality it is more likely to be a reflection of the character confronting such decision points throughout the film.
It seems safe to say that the poster and trailer suggest that the Assassin’s Creed movie will be full of high-flying action when it releases this December. Who’s excited?