Assassin's Creed Series' Original Ending Saw Desmond Blasting Off Into Space

If you weren't happy with how Desmond Miles' story came to an end in Assassin's Creed III, just know we almost got something a lot weirder. According to Assassin's Creed III director Alex Hutchinson, the third entry of the Assassin's Creed series almost ended with Desmond blasting off into space.

In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Hutchinson told the outlet the now long-running Assassin's Creed series was originally intended to be a trilogy, which ultimately ended with the destruction of Earth. However, while the rest of the planet was forced to deal with imminent death, Desmond and former Abstergo Industries researcher Lucy Stillman got an arguably much better deal. According to Hutchinson, the pair were meant to board a spaceship together and set off to a new planet, where they would become the new Adam and Eve and create a new civilization.

The news of Assassin's Creed's almost-alternate ending first surfaced late last year, when Lars de Wildt, a researcher of conspiracy theories, religion, and other beliefs in digital media culture at KU Leuven, published a research paper filled with interviews given by various Assassin's Creed developers back in 2019. In de Wildt's piece, notable Assassin's Creed developers--such as Hutchinson and Assassin's Creed co-creator Patrice Désilets--shared with the researcher their original plans for Assassin's Creed III, including a fun fact about why Lucy was given that name.

"That's why she's called Lucy, after the Australopithecus afarensis," Désilets said. This is a reference to a collection of fossils dating back nearly 3.2 million years ago, to the first female of the hominin species, affectionately named Lucy.

Of course none of this is how the first portion of the Assassin's Creed series played out. While the universe remains intact, both Desmond and Lucy weren't quite as lucky. However, while it might not be a literal legacy, the two characters did spark a series that has since gone on to span 12 main games and 17 spin-offs. Assassin's Creed's most recent title, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, is slated to get a brand-new expansion on March 10.