10 Assassin's Creed Theories That Might Actually Be True

10 Assassin’s Creed Theories That Might Be True

Caitlin Johnson


Welcome to MojoPlays! Today, we’re looking at 10 “Assassin’s Creed” theories that MIGHT be true. What do YOU think Ubisoft is still hiding from us?

Who Was Jesus?

Particularly during the first few games, religion was a very prominent theme. We had the religious conflict of the Crusades and then spent so much time in Italy exploring huge, Catholic churches. This meant that in the early days, there was a lot of discussion about Jesus himself, and suggestions that various Pieces of Eden were involved in his life. But just who was he, according to the lore? Well, that’s something we still don’t exactly know. But somebody has theorized that Jesus was actually a remnant of the Isu sent to enslave humanity yet again. Others have suggested that he was a Sage or, potentially, part of the Instruments of the First Will.

They Predicted the Animus

Some have claimed that the creed itself, “nothing is true, everything is permitted”, actually refers to the Animus and has ALWAYS referred to the Animus. So, “nothing is true” isn’t a vague reference to the fragility of human laws and society, but means that literally, NOTHING is true, because everything is being re-lived through the Animus. This sounds heady, but remember, the Isu have DEFINITELY predicted the Animus, and their holograms reference it repeatedly. Minerva, when she meets Ezio beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, talks directly to Desmond, because she understands what the Animus is and that it’s being used to see through Ezio’s eyes. So, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that previous assassins, researching the Isu, deciphered what they were talking about.

The Return of Desmond & Layla

This is a theory that we’ll have to wait and see what happens with, because it very much COULD become true if Ubisoft decides to go this way. At the end of “Valhalla”, we see that Basim has tricked Layla into reviving him by bringing the Staff of Hermes into the Vault that houses Yggdrasil. Layla dies, but her consciousness enters the Grey, along with an entity called “the Reader”, which reveals itself to be Desmond Miles. Other characters trapped in the Gray over the years include Clay Kaczmarek – Subject 16 – and Juno herself, who eventually breaks free. Could Desmond and Layla also break free of the Gray, as Juno was able to? Potentially, and it would be very interesting to see if this happens.

The Third Way

Is it really the case that, of the enlightened few, you’ve either got to be an Assassin or a Templar? Some think not, and that maybe there is or will soon be a third faction that wants to strike a balance between them. Now, fans will know there already IS a third faction, the Instruments of the First Will who worship Juno, but they’ve mostly disappeared now. With the revelation that Basim is actually Loki, perhaps HE is the route to this third way, as Loki in mythology always shirked being fully on either side of a conflict. What might this third group want? Perhaps to do the Isu’s bidding and re-enslave humanity, or maybe they want to bring about true peace by ending the fighting between the Brotherhood and the Order for good.

“I Cleanse”

The Templars knew very little about the 2012 disaster, having been unable to access the Vault and losing Desmond – whose genetic memories of Ezio and Connor were the key to figuring it out. At least, that’s what the games say; this theory says something else, deriving from the literal translation of the word “Abstergo”. In Latin, “Abstergo” means “I cleanse”, which has led to fan speculation that perhaps the Templars weren’t as in the dark as we think. In fact, some say that the Templars knew about the disaster but, with no way to prevent it, they built their own underground bunkers and were happy to let it wipe out the majority of humanity.

It’s All a Simulation

We know that the games are all, technically, simulations, but this theory suggests that absolutely EVERYTHING is a simulation, both in and out of the Animus. This again goes back to things we’ve seen from the Isu, and specifically their super-computer Yggdrasil, where we see the Reader analyzing calculations that predict the future. So, what if we’ve NEVER seen the real events of the games, because everything is just one of these Isu predictions of the future being shown to us? Like they say, nothing is true and everything is permitted; could this mean that this is just one calculation of many?

Multiple Timelines

In the same vein as the simulation theory is the fact that the Isu have many, MANY calculations looking at different possible futures – though we see they often lead to the same point, like humanity being wiped out by apocalyptic events. Given how convoluted the lore is, and how it often contradicts itself, it would almost make MORE sense for multiple timelines to be the case, since everything could have taken place in parallel universes. These universes don’t exist purely as simulations, but are all out there and correspond to the various ways the computer predicts events might unfold.

The Templars Are the Heroes

People have been speculating about this more or less since the beginning, as many of Altaïr’s targets will explain their ideology to him. Then Ubisoft gave us characters like Haytham Kenway and Shay Cormac, who saw the Templar cause as the true one for bringing about peace within mankind, and we’re still wondering now – what if the Templars are right? They do have the same goal as the Assassins, world peace, so they can’t be too bad, right? And the Templars in the American colonies do things like breaking out slaves and even helping Native American tribes. Perhaps the Templars are the ones who REALLY have it right, after all.

All About Eve

“Assassin’s Creed II” introduced us to the concept of the Isu creating humans as slaves and Adam and Eve being those two slaves who broke free and led a human uprising against their creators. But ever since, we’ve learned surprisingly little about them. This theory, however, says that Eve is actually crucial to the ongoing plot, and that she might be able to be reincarnated as well. Previously, it looked like only the Isu themselves got to be constantly reincarnated, like the first Sage Aita and the Scandinavian Isu, the Æsir. People want to believe that Eve, too, has been reincarnated many times – including in one important character, Evie Frye. This is all unconfirmed, but we’d definitely love to see more of Adam and Eve.

Minerva is the TRUE Villain

All this time, we’ve been led to believe that Juno is the big bad of the series – even though she mostly disappeared after “Black Flag” and “Rogue”. But Juno supposedly died in a spin-off comic, which isn’t the way you’d treat such an important character. If that’s the case, maybe there’s another villain lurking somewhere within the lore, and some think that villain is Minerva, the first Isu that we ever personally interact with in the series. Minerva is the one who warns Desmond not to trust Juno, which is ultimately correct, but could she have deeper goals yet? Desmond DID have to free Juno to avert the 2012 disaster, so perhaps Minerva wants revenge for this.