Robert Downey Jr. has taken on the roles of a comic book superhero, a classic fictional detective and a legendary comedic actor. He may soon add the original Renaissance man to his list of acting credits.
Downey Jr. has reportedly signed on to the "Assassin's Creed" movie as Leonardo da Vinci, according to a now-deleted story by Moviepilot.
The video-game adaptation will star Michael Fassbender as both Michael Lynch, a death row inmate who becomes an "unwitting pawn in the Assassins/Templar war," and Aguilar de Agarorobo, an assassin during the Spanish Inquisition, according to FilmDivider. The movie's plot will borrow elements from "Assassin's Creed II."
An evil scientist Joseph will subject Lynch to experiments at Abstergo Industries, the modern-day front for Knights Templar, according to FilmDivider. Lynch will receive assistance from a female assassin named Lara (the actress for this character will also play two roles). The movie will also feature Abstergo's CEO Alan Rikkan, but he probably will only appear in voice over, much like his video-game version.
In the movie, Agarorobo's father is an assassin chief. The antagonist for the Spanish Inquistion story will be Tomas de Torquemada, who was featured in the "Assassin's Creed 2: Discovery" game.
In the video game "Assassin's Creed II," Da Vinci helps the main character (Ezio Auditore) create weapons using the Codex pages left by Alitair, the main character in the first "Assassin's Creed." The character can also travel in the inventor's flying machine (based on Da Vinci's real-life plans).
Justin Kurzel will direct the "Assassin's Creed" screenplay written by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper and Michael Lesslie. The movie is slated for release on Aug. 7, 2015.
