‘Assassin’s Creed’ Netflix Series Reveals Ancient Rome Setting and Additional Cast as Shooting Starts in Italy

Netflix‘s live-action “Assassin’s Creed” series will be an original story set in Rome in 64 A.D., the streamer revealed on Friday. The hotly anticipated series, directed by Johan Renck (“Chernobyl”), has started filming at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios and revealed additional recurring cast members.

New members of the video game adaptation’s ensemble cast include Louis McCartney, who starred in the “Stranger Things stage adaptation “The First Shadow”; Mirren Mack (“The Nest,” “The Witcher: Blood Origin”); Youssef Kerkour (“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”) and Sandra Guldberg-Kampp (“Foundation”).

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The show’s previously announced cast comprises Lola Petticrew, Toby Wallace, Zachary Hart, Laura Marcus, Tanzyn Crawford, Nabhann Rizwan, Claes Bang, Noomi Rapace, Ramzy Bedia, Sean Harris, and Corrado Invernizzi.

The “Assassin’s Creed” game franchise has previously been set in several historically accurate locations including ancient Egypt, Greece, Renaissance Italy, feudal Japan and revolution-era France — but not in ancient Rome.

The year 64 A.D is known for the Great Fire of Rome that started around the city’s chariot stadium, Circus Maximus, and raged for days during which Emperor Nero was away in the coastal resort of Antium — thus the phrase “Nero fiddled while Rome burned.” Nero was widely blamed for the disaster, with accusers claiming that the emperor started the fire to bypass the senate and rebuild Rome to his liking, though modern historians believe the fire was accidental.

The Netflix “Assassin’s Creed” series will be based at Cinecittà studios and shot entirely in Italy. Filming started on March 9 and is expected to run for seven months through Oct. 16, with a potential 2027 release window on Netflix. Besides using Cinecittà’s vast ancient Rome backlot set with a Roman Forum replica, the show will also shoot in Rome’s Lazio region and in Tuscany.

The video game is one of the bestselling in history, with more than 230 million units sold globally since its release in 2007. Now totaling 14 installments, the franchise explores the war between the rival secret orders of the Assassins and the Templars as they use advanced machines to access the genetic memories of Assassins in different periods of the past to track down powerful artifacts called Pieces of Eden.

The “Assassin’s Creed” show 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.”

As previously announced, “Westworld” writer Roberto Patino and “Homecoming” creator David Wiener serve as the “Assassin’s Creed” show creators, showrunners and executive producers. Gerard Guillemot, Margaret Boykin, Austin Dill and Genevieve Jones of Ubisoft Film & Television serve as executive producers, as does Matt O’Toole.

The show’s ace costume designer is Italy’s Carlo Poggioli (“The Leopard,” “The New Pope”). The Italian line producer is Nicola Rosada, who has already worked with Netflix on the Italy shoots of “The Decameron,” “Emily in Paris” and “La Dolce Villa.” The “Assassin’s Creed” series will tap into Italy’s tax rebates, which provide up to 40% of eligible production costs. 

“I am honored that Netflix has chosen our studios and our sets to create such a spectacular, ambitious series that is eagerly anticipated around the world,” said Cinecittà Studios CEO Manuela Cacciamani in a statement. “It is a sign of the credibility and reputation that Cinecittà enjoys internationally, and of the professional guarantee we offer to every kind of production, of any genre and scale.”

Cacciamani added: “But I am even more honored by the trust placed in our skilled workforce and in our art department, which is collaborating on the creation of truly spectacular sets. With its masters, Cinecittà confirms itself as a recognized artistic excellence and a source of pride for our country.”