I think the AC1 remake could solve Assassin's Creed's Modern Day problem
I've been thinking about the rumored AC1 remake and how Ubisoft could possibly do it without removing Desmond.
I honestly don't think you can properly remake AC1 without its Modern Day story. The whole game is built around Desmond being held captive by Abstergo and being forced to relive Altaïr's memories through the Animus. If you remove Desmond, you have to change the structure and even part of the meaning of the original.
But I think there could be a pretty simple solution.
What if someone in the current Modern Day is using the Animus to explore Desmond's memories?
For example, Basim.
After Valhalla, Basim is in the present day and has access to the Animus. Maybe he wants to understand what happened during all those years and how the Assassin-Templar conflict ended up in its current state.
So we'd basically have:
Present Day → Desmond in 2012 → Altaïr in 1191
We would still experience Desmond being kidnapped by Abstergo, his conversations with Lucy and Vidic, the Bleeding Effect, Subject 16, etc. And then Desmond himself enters the Animus and we experience Altaïr's memories just like in the original.
It would also give Ubisoft a natural way to finally continue Basim's Modern Day story after Valhalla, which was basically left hanging. Personally, I'd much rather see that story continue than have the Modern Day pushed into the far future and mostly presented through files and recordings.
And this idea doesn't have to end with AC1.
If Ubisoft eventually remakes AC2, Brotherhood, Revelations and AC3, the same concept could continue through the entire Desmond saga. Basim - or whoever the present-day character is - could slowly discover Desmond's entire journey, while we gradually learn why they are studying his memories in the first place.
So instead of replacing the old Modern Day, the remakes could basically have two Modern Day stories at once - preserving Desmond's story while using it to move the current story forward.
For me, Desmond's story isn't just an extra part of AC1 - it's one of the foundations of the game. Removing it would fundamentally change what AC1 is, and at that point I don't think you can really call it a faithful remake.
What do you guys think?
(English isn't my first language, so I asked ChatGPT to help me put all my thoughts together.)