A new duo of photos from the set of the Assassin’s Creed movie, based on the popular video game franchise of the same name, shows off Michael Fassbender in his dual roles as an assassin in the 15th century and an inmate of sorts in the present. Why is Fassbender playing both? Well, as with most video game plots, it’s complicated.

See, there’s this thing called an Animus, and it can basically make folks relive the experiences of their ancestors. And the sketchy Templars, an order loosely based on the historical faction, want descendants of assassins, an order of people that, uh, kill other people, to do this for reasons. It’s not clear whether the movie will follow the game’s plot, which is downright nonsensical at times, but the basics remain the same: dude relives experiences of ancestor for nefarious reasons.