Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, two of the writers responsible for the upcoming Ridley Scott epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, have been tapped to rewrite the script for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed film, according to Deadline. The duo will take over for Michael Leslie, whose previous credits include a handful of short films, as well as the play Prince of Denmark, a prequel to Hamlet. It’s unclear if the pair will work from Leslie’s script, or start fresh.
The film is currently set for release on August 7, 2015, and the movie’s executive producer Fannie Pailloux stated back in January that filming was scheduled to begin this August. If that remains the case, the production will need to step things up quickly. As of now, no director has been hired and the only confirmed cast member is Michael Fassbender, who will also produce. The production was in talks with director Daniel Espinosa at the start of the year, but beyond the news that the two parties were talking, no official announcements have been made.
The hire of Cooper and Collage is an encouraging sign though, and the team are highly sought after at the moment.
The writers are coming off work on Scott’s Biblical epic, and recently completed a draft of The General, a George Washington biopic for Darren Aronofsky. They are also working with Aronofsky on another film, The Maccabee. In addition, the duo is currently adapting the Pulitzer Prize winning novel Devil in the Grove, writing the limited event series Pinkerton for FX, and scripting a new Jerry Bruckheimer earthquake movie, Shake.
No word on how this hire might affect the production schedule, but with filming supposedly set to begin in just a few months, if there are any delays forthcoming we should hear about them soon.
