Netflix’s live-action Assassin’s Creed series has locked in its director. Emmy-winner Johan Renck, best known for HBO’s Chernobyl, will helm the adaptation of Ubisoft’s best-selling video game franchise.
Director Behind Chernobyl Joins the Project
Renck brings his sharp eye for tension and atmosphere to the historical sci-fi series. His past work includes The Last Panthers, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Spaceman, a 2023 Netflix feature starring Adam Sandler.
His attachment signals Netflix is pushing for prestige-level execution on the Assassin’s Creed adaptation.
Production and Casting Details
The Assassin’s Creed series is created and showrun by Roberto Patino and David Wiener. It’s being developed under Netflix’s 2020 content deal with Ubisoft and will be produced by Gerard Guillemot, Margaret Boykin, Austin Dill, Genevieve Jones (Ubisoft Film & TV), and Matt O’Toole.
Toby Wallace and Lola Petticrew were recently confirmed as the show’s leads, with Zachary Hart and Laura Marcus also in key roles.
Production is expected to begin in 2026, with Italy as a confirmed filming location. The time period remains under wraps.
Plot and Franchise Background
The show will explore the secret war between two factions—one seeking to control humanity’s future through manipulation, the other fighting for free will. The narrative spans major historical events, with original characters separate from the games.
The official logline says the series will be “centered on the secret war between two shadowy factions — one set on determining mankind’s future through control and manipulation, while the other fights to preserve free will. The series follows its characters across pivotal historical events as they battle to shape humanity’s destiny.”
Ubisoft launched Assassin’s Creed in 2007. The franchise has sold more than 230 million copies and remains one of the top-selling video game series of all time. The most recent title, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, released in 2025. A film version starring Michael Fassbender came out in 2016.
Variety first reported on Johan Renck as director.
