MovieChat Forums > Assassin's Creed (2016) Discussion > Is Fassbender playing himself AND his an...

Is Fassbender playing himself AND his ancient ancestor?


.... why?

An ancestor from 4 generations back would only share 1/16 of their genes with you, so an ancestor from hundreds of years ago... should look identical to you... because they're slightly related?

Stupidest thing I've ever seen. Do movies have people play their own parents? That would make more sense than this, because at least parents share half the DNA with their kid.

I hope this is the stupidest aspect of the film, because if not, we're gonna have some major problems on our hands.

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You must not have played the games, otherwise you would have realized Desmond is exactly like Ezio and Altair. We are talking about the AC Universe here, so having the modern day protagonist look exactly like his ancestor isn't anything new.

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Yup, this is definitely the most... odd aspect of the film, as it was of the games. In the games, they were just reusing assets- one of the most important things to do in game development. They took that concept and ran with it in the movie so that Fassbender (arguably the movie's greatest on-screen strength) could be in the movie at all times, past and present.

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You're not getting the point

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It's kind of what it's like in the games, so there's that. Also, you must realise that in a way, it is Fassbender's character from the modern era, just experiencing or living his ancestor's memories. So, you can actually explain why they look same that way. Maybe the ancestor didn't look identical but they're showing that way to indicate that it's not actually the ancestor but the modern descendant that's reenacting the ancestor's memories. That makes sense to me.

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Isn't it that YOU experience your ancestor's memories through the connection of shared DNA, but you are still YOU, which is why YOU look like YOU?

A bit like how Sam always looks like Sam in Quantum Leap, except when he looks in a mirror?

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The first game explained it as a synchronization tool. The very first scene of the Assassin's Creed series is Desmond's mind rejecting the Animus simulation because he just couldn't come to terms with it. Having his own face helps his mind not reject the Animus simulation instantly. That's why as the games progress from AC1-AC3 the ancestor's faces get more and more different and distinct from Desmond because he's getting used to the Animus. By Connor you don't really see Desmond at all in the face.

If the movie bothers explaining it I'm sure they'll go that route as well. So Aguilar didn't really look identical to Callum but in the Animus simulation their faces are the same to help Callum synchronize better with his ancestor.

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