The leap of faith is an iconic maneuver in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed game series. Any time the player is atop a high building or structure, they have the ability to dive off it and land safely in a cart of hay or some other cushiony shock absorber.
The leap of faith makes for a great way to quickly navigate the ancient cities the games take place in, and also a great means of escaping hostile pursuit. Is it all that realistic? No. Is it really cool? Yes.
It's only fitting then that the upcoming Hollywood adaptation of Assassin's Creed also features leaps of faith. Fans have already seen one major leap in the film's first trailer, as Michael Fassbender's character leaps from atop a building in 15th-century Spain. But whereas it would be incredibly easy to use a digital character for such high-flying (and dangerous) stunts, the Assassin's Creed movie uses an actual stuntman for the feat.
A new behind-the-scenes look at the film sets up the stunt, as Fassbender's stunt double Damien Walters prepares to perform one of the highest freefalls performed by a stuntman in more than 35 years.
"Normally it would be a digital character that would jump off," says producer Patrick Crowley in the video. "Damien is the best, so we're going to do it for real."
First Damien practices landing on the inflatable cushion by performing a leap of faith at 70 feet. The second practice jump is even higher, at 90 feet. Then comes the real deal: a freefall jump at 125 feet. He falls for almost 3 full seconds at 61 miles per hour.
Thanks to Damien being an expert, he comes out of the entire ordeal just fine. The result is one seriously cool, and realistic, leap of faith that will help to make the movie as authentic as it can be. Check it out for yourself below.
Fans of the game series will also want to check out the video for a few brief snippets of brand-new footage from the film that wasn't a part of the movie's official trailer.
The Assassin's Creed movie leaps into theaters Dec. 21. Ubisoft isn't releasing a new game in the series this year, so here's hoping the film will be enough to tide fans over. According to recent comments from those involved in the film, the movie might even feature a familiar face or two from the game series.
