'Assassin's Creed' movie cast news: Actress Ariane Labed replaces Alicia Vikander

French actress Ariane Labed Wikipedia

After it was revealed that Swedish actress Alicia Vikander could not fit the production schedule of the upcoming theatrical film version of "Assassin's Creed" in her own hectic schedule, another actress has reportedly been tapped to take her place. 

Deadline exclusively revealed that "The Lobster" star Ariane Labed signed on to portray the role that Vikander left open in the film. She will join actor Michael Fassbender, who will portray the lead role in the movie, as well as fellow French actress Marion Cotillard. 

Labed made her mark in the European movie scene after earning the Best Actress award in Venice back in 2010 for her role in the film "Attenberg" by Athina Rachel Tsangari. She also received the Locarno Best Actress award last year for her role as Alice in the French drama film "Fidelio, Alice's Journey." 

Talks about bringing Ubisoft's action adventure game with a historical fiction theme began in 2011, and Ubisoft Motion Pictures announced that Fassbender will star and co-produce the film alongside the game studio's movie outfit and New Regency. The film will be helmed by "Macbeth" director Justin Kurzel, and the script will be finalized by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage. 

Little is known about the plot of the "Assassin's Creed" movie adaptation, but Kurzel earlier mentioned that the film will be a little different from — but will stay true to — the video game's plot. Fassbender also said previously that they want the film's treatment to pay respect to the rich plot of the game. 

The film was initially expected to be released on May 22 this year but it was pushed back to Aug. 7. However, the film will not start production until later this year, that is why it was given a new release date of Dec. 21, 2016. 

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