Assassin's Creed: Lineage

Lore & Background

The films primarily revolve around Ezio's father Giovanni (played by Romano Orzari), an Assassin from 15th-century Florence, and his investigation of the mysterious murder of the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, which leads him to confront a larger conspiracy. In Episode 1, Giovanni ambushes mercenaries led by Rodrigo Borgia, learns of a plot to assassinate Sforza, but arrives too late. He finds coins on a body, with the connection to Venice established later through other clues. In Episode 2, Giovanni travels to Venice, intercepts a courier, and brings an encrypted letter to Lorenzo de' Medici and Uberto Alberti. The letter is decoded by a scholar, not by Father Antonio Maffei da Volterra. Uberto takes the decoded letter and later betrays Giovanni. Giovanni volunteers to deliver the letter personally to Rome. In Episode 3, Giovanni delivers the letter to Borgia, and the Pope's agreement is implied rather than explicitly shown. As Giovanni attempts to escape, he is struck by a throwing knife thrown by one of Borgia's men, not by Borgia himself.

Reader's Guide

Assassin's Creed: Lineage represents Ubisoft's first venture into film production, bridging the gap between video games and cinema. The films were made using live actors filmed on green screen, with environments extracted from the game engine and reworked for the film. About 50% of the costumes were authentic period re-creations leased from Italy. The score was composed by George S. Clinton, distinct from the game's soundtrack by Jesper Kyd. The films were released on YouTube in October and November 2009, with a complete film release on 14 November 2009. They were later included as bonus content in special editions of Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and in The Ezio Collection released in 2016. Critical reaction was mixed: IGN's Christopher Monfette noted it felt like special edition bonus content, while R.L. Shaffer said it was good but not engaging enough to earn new fans. The series is significant as an early example of transmedia storytelling in the Assassin's Creed franchise.

Did You Know?

• The films were directed by Yves Simoneau and produced by Ubisoft Montreal in collaboration with Hybride Technology.
• The first episode was released on YouTube on 26 October 2009, though it was announced for the 27th.
• The score was composed by George S. Clinton, unlike Assassin's Creed II's soundtrack by Jesper Kyd.

Production & Technical Innovation

Assassin's Creed: Lineage represented a landmark moment for Ubisoft, marking the company's initial foray into the film industry. Produced by Ubisoft Montreal in partnership with Hybride Technology, the three-episode short film series employed a production pipeline that blended live-action performance with the game's own digital assets. Actors performed on green screen—a technique Hybride had previously applied to projects such as 300, Sin City, and Avatar—while the surrounding environments were pulled directly from the game engine and transferred into XSI. Roughly half of those extracted assets underwent rework at both the textural and geometric level before being exported for the film. The wardrobe design followed a similar hybrid approach: approximately half the costumes were authentic period recreations leased from Italy, while the remainder were conceived by a third-party design studio commissioned by Ubisoft and then assembled by a team of costume specialists based in Montreal, Quebec. This cross-disciplinary workflow ensured the films felt visually seamless with the world players would soon inhabit in Assassin's Creed II.

Narrative Arc & the Auditore Conspiracy

The three-episode narrative follows Giovanni Auditore, a fifteenth-century Assassin operating in Renaissance Florence, as he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy far larger than a single political assassination. The story opens in 1476, when Giovanni intercepts a mercenary squad led by Rodrigo Borgia and extracts intelligence about a planned killing of Milan's Duke, Galeazzo Maria Sforza. His failure to prevent the murder sets off a chain of investigations that carries him from the streets of Florence to the Doge's Palace in Venice and ultimately to Rome. Along the way, encrypted correspondence, a suicidal courier, and a secret meeting between Borgia and Pope Sixtus IV reveal the Templar hand pulling the strings and foreshadow the Pazzi conspiracy. The final episode culminates in a brutal ambush at St. Peter's Basilica, where Borgia offers Giovanni a place among the Templars and a vision of a new world. Giovanni's refusal, his mortal wounding, and his desperate flight home—where his son Federico lies to protect him—leave the Auditore family teetering on the edge of catastrophe, with the closing line promising that the true conclusion awaits in Assassin's Creed II.

Cast & Performance Integration

One of the most distinctive aspects of Lineage is how tightly its performances are woven into the video game itself. The films and Assassin's Creed II share a common cast, and every principal actor—save Devon Bostick, whose contribution was limited to face and voice—underwent full motion-capture sessions for the game's narrative sequences. Their faces were digitally scanned and their voices recorded so that the characters players encounter in the game carry the same physicality and vocal delivery seen on screen. Romano Orzari anchors the series as Giovanni Auditore, delivering the monologues that frame each episode and embodying the quiet, watchful father who moves through moonlit Florentine streets. This shared-cast approach meant that the film was not merely a promotional add-on but a genuine performance asset for the game, ensuring continuity of character between the two media. The result is a seamless bridge: the same actor who haunted the YouTube short becomes the same figure players meet in the open world of Assassin's Creed II, blurring the boundary between cinematic storytelling and interactive experience.

Release, Promotion & Creative Collaboration

Released exclusively on YouTube in late October and November 2009, the three episodes served a dual purpose: standalone short films and a direct promotional vehicle for Assassin's Creed II. The first episode premiered on 26 October, the second and third followed on 12 November, and a combined full-length cut appeared on 14 November 2009. Behind the scenes, narrative cohesion was a priority. Corey May, the writer of Assassin's Creed II, collaborated closely with Lineage scriptwriter William Reymond to ensure both storylines fed into a single, unified narrative rooted in the original game's lore. Musically, the films were scored by George S. Clinton, a deliberate departure from Jesper Kyd, who composed the game's soundtrack, giving the shorts their own sonic identity while still feeling tonally adjacent. The series closes with the on-screen message that the conclusion is in the viewer's hands, a direct invitation to pick up the controller and continue Giovanni's story as Ezio in the game.