Most people, if you asked them to picture an Assassin's Creed TV show set in Italy, would picture the Renaissance. Ezio. Rooftops in Florence. The Colosseum in the background of some dramatically lit establishing shot. Ubisoft and Netflix had other ideas.
Production on the live-action Assassin's Creed series officially began this week, and Netflix confirmed on X that the show is set in Rome circa 64 AD. That puts it squarely in the reign of Emperor Nero, one of history's most notorious rulers, and over 1,400 years before Assassin's Creed 2 ever touched Italian soil. The Great Fire of Rome, Nero's persecution of early Christians, the political chaos of his court, that's the backdrop these writers are working with. And honestly, that's a far more interesting creative choice than playing it safe with a period the games already covered.
Assassin’s Creed has officially begun production in Rome.
— netflix⁷ (@netflix) March 20, 2026
Set in ancient Rome in 64 AD, the live-action series adaptation of Ubisoft’s best-selling video game franchise stars Toby Wallace, Lola Petticrew, Laura Marcus, Tanzyn Crawford, Zachary Hart, Claes Bang, Nabhaan Rizwan… pic.twitter.com/DcysBGSQPL
The full cast is now confirmed. Toby Wallace and Lola Petticrew lead the ensemble, joined by Noomi Rapace, Claes Bang, Sean Harris, Ramzy Bedia, Corrado Invernizzi, Nabhaan Rizwan, Laura Marcus, Tanzyn Crawford, Zachary Hart, Mirren Mack, Youssef Kerkour, and Sandra Guldberg Kampp. That's a serious roster. Noomi Rapace and Claes Bang alone are worth paying attention to; both have the kind of screen presence that can carry a prestige thriller. Filming is expected to run for seven months, wrapping in October, with a 2027 release window currently being targeted.
The show was first announced back in October 2020, which means it's taken roughly five and a half years to get cameras rolling. That's a long time to sit on an IP this size, and the silence in between was conspicuous. Credit where it's due, though: now that things are moving, the creative decisions being made look genuinely considered rather than rushed. Roberto Patino and David Wiener, who are serving as creators, showrunners, and executive producers, have both worked on prestige television before, Westworld, Sons of Anarchy, Halo, Homecoming. Whether that translates to a good Assassin's Creed adaptation is a separate question, but the pedigree is there.
Why Nero's Rome Is the Right Call
The official synopsis describes the show as "a high-octane thriller 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." That's the Assassins and Templars framework, just not named as such yet. The real question is how 64 AD Rome fits into that structure, and the answer is: almost too well. Nero's reign was defined by paranoia, political manipulation, mass persecution, and a government that blamed its own citizens for disasters it may have caused. That's practically an Assassin's Creed plot outline already.
Patino and Wiener said in a joint statement that beneath "the scope, the spectacle, the parkour and the thrills is a baseline for the most essential kind of human story, about people searching for purpose, struggling with questions of identity and destiny and faith." Which, look, that's exactly what the best entries in this franchise have always been about. Assassin's Creed 2 worked because Ezio's story was personal before it was historical. If this show finds that same balance in ancient Rome, it has a real shot.
The franchise has spent years trying to figure out what it wants to be on screen. This is the most promising attempt yet, and ancient Rome under Nero is a setting with enough genuine historical drama baked in that the writers don't need to invent conflict. They just need to not get in its way.
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