Actor of Bayek demands that Netflix series keep the present-day storyline

The filming of the live-action adaptation of the franchise is in full swing, with actors Toby Wallace and Lola Petticrew chosen for the leading roles in the production. The historic setting picked to host the plot will be the city of Rome in the year 64 AD, a period known for the tragic Great Fire that ravaged the area. Despite the progress on the film sets, the production team is keeping a tight lid on whether contemporary sections are included or excluded in the show’s narrative, causing tension among those who have followed the saga since the beginning. To separate the past and overlook the science fiction that threads the storyline would be a grave mistake, watering down the brand’s identity to turn it into just another generic period series.

This gap in information was a red flag for Abubakar Salim, the artist responsible for bringing protagonist Bayek to life in the renowned Assassin’s Creed Origins. In a statement to the portal Screen Rant, the professional claimed that the streaming platform Netflix would be at fault if it dismisses the segments set in modern times, which are the backbone of the universe created by Ubisoft.

"Especially with a title like Assassin’s Creed, which has spent so many years in the gaming space, you need to heed the fans regarding truly honoring and servicing it, because it is one of those instances where it is so easy to attempt innovation when innovation isn’t even needed.”

“It just needs its core, which is the creed itself, the historical elements, and also the central modern-day components.”

All this debate regarding the use of the Animus device and the plans of the corporation Abstergo divides opinions in the community since the brand’s inception. In the past, the journey of Desmond, portrayed by voice actor Nolan North, split players between those who loved the modern conspiracy and those who abhorred the interruptions during historical exploration. The dissatisfaction erupted when the publisher abruptly decided to cut the hero’s arc in Assassin’s Creed 3, leaving the segment of users who invested time theorizing about humanity’s fate abandoned.

The voice actor’s stance serves as a reality check for Hollywood screenwriters, who frequently overlook the established rules of the games to come up with nonsensical solutions that ruin the adaptations. Keeping the balance between the assassins’ cloak of the past and the present's technological warfare is the true essence of the intellectual property. If the producers ignore the advice of those who understand the genre and choose to cut the contemporary framework to simplify the script, the production runs a serious risk of losing the loyal audience that has maintained the brand’s name for almost two decades.