Edward Kenway
Edward James Kenway is a fictional character in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed video game franchise. He was introduced as a supporting character in Assassin's Creed: Forsaken, a companion novel to the 2012 video game Assassin's Creed III, before appearing as the protagonist of the 2013 video game, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, and its novelization, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. In the former, he is portrayed by Welsh actor Matt Ryan through performance capture. Since Black Flags release, the character has made further appearances in several other works within the franchise.
Within the series' alternate historical setting, Edward was born in 1693 into a family of Welsh and British farmers, but his ambitions to improve his lifestyle eventually lead him to become a privateer and later a pirate, operating in the Caribbean during the final decades of the Golden Age of Piracy. During this time, he plays an important role in the establishment of a short-lived Pirate Republic, and inadvertently becomes caught in the conflict between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order. Initially helping both sides for personal gain, he eventually has a change of heart and joins the Assassins following his retirement from piracy. Later in life, he settles down in London, becoming one of the co-leaders of the local branch of the Brotherhood, until his murder by the Templars in 1735. Edward is the father of Haytham Kenway, who would go on to become a high-ranking Templar and the main antagonist of Assassin's Creed III; the grandfather of Ratonhnhaké꞉ton / Connor, Haytham's son and the protagonist of Assassin's Creed III; and an ancestor of Desmond Miles, the protagonist of the modern-day sequences of the first five main games in the series.
Edward has received a positive reception for his charm and characterization as a morally ambiguous protagonist and self-made man and is considered to be one of the series' most popular characters. Various merchandise for the character, as with other of the series' protagonists, has been released.
Creation and development
The lead scriptwriter for Black Flag, Darby McDevitt, observed that previous series protagonists have joined the Assassin Brotherhood without much deliberation, often as part of a coming of age moment, as their personal goals are already naturally aligned with that of the organization's. For Black Flag, the developmental team wanted to explore the Assassins' tenets, their "creed", from a new perspective. The idea of a talented and shrewd pirate, a cynical and jaded man who comes into contact with the Assassins, was mooted and proposed as the protagonist who presents this different point of view and who may not share the Assassins' worldview or adherence to a higher purpose or ideal. The whole thrust of the story then became a constant conflict within Edward over the very idea of the Creed, even as he co-opts some of the Assassins' methods and tactics for his personal gain.McDevitt explained that Black Flag is at its core a story of immorality and repentance, and Edward Kenway is a married man whose strained relationship with his wife is one of the central struggles in the game. McDewitt describe Edward as a "raucous and bawdy chap" who also has a few significant close relationships with other women in the story, and that his primary motivation in Black Flag is to get rich and prove himself a "man of quality' to his family and betters". As for his personality, McDevitt said Edward "is a pirate who yearns for freedom much like the Assassins do, but loathes the sense of responsibility that a truly functional freedom requires" and that the narrative intends to explore "at what point would Edward realize his brand of freedom is too chaotic to function for very long.” McDevitt compared Edward to his grandson Ratonhnhaké꞉ton, better known as Connor, the protagonist of Black Flag's antecedent Assassin's Creed III, and described his character arc as a counterpoint in someway.
Portrayal
Edward Kenway is voiced by Matt Ryan, who also portrayed the character in a motion capture studio. McDevitt admitted that the character and his back story became far more influenced by the culture of Wales than he had originally intended; the developmental team only decided to build their story around a Welsh pirate when they cast Ryan as the voice and image of the character. McDevitt originally envisioned Edward to hail from an English port town like Bristol, Portsmouth, or Manchester, but deliberately left his background blank prior to the finalization of the casting process because he wanted to draw from whichever actor was chosen. McDevitt praised Ryan for the charisma and the personality he brought to the character, but recalled that he initially read his lines in a West County accent. Ryan was then asked to speak in his natural Welsh accent, which ultimately prompted McDevitt to finalize Edward as a Welsh character from Swansea, which matches his actor's cultural background. McDevitt consulted Ryan's father for ideas as he wanted to include some colloquial Welsh phrases into the game's dialogue.Ryan noted that unlike the majority of the game's cast of characters who are fictionalized versions of historical figures, Edward is an original character. To prepare for the role, Ryan was asked to read books recommended by McDevitt as part of their research of the time period, as the game's developmental team wanted to avoid the usual tropes and archetypes associated with the depiction of piracy in popular fiction.
Unlike various pirates, Edward is shown to be a fairly reasonable man. He has various acts of kindness shown throughout the game, hinting at a softer side, which is fully revealed at the end of the game when he meets his daughter Jennifer Scott.
Appearances
''Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag''
In Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, the player experiences Edward's life and exploits in the West Indies and the western African coast as part of a simulation played by a silent protagonist who works as a research analyst at Abstergo Entertainment, a corporate front of the Templar Order in the modern era. Abstergo is interested in Edward's memories because of his involvement with both Assassins and Templars during the Golden Age of Piracy, as well as his pursuit of the Observatory, an ancient site built by the First Civilization.The game's backstory establishes that Edward comes from a low socio-economic background and married a wealthy girl named Caroline Scott, though their relationship became strained over time due to Edward's ambitious dreams of earning a fortune as a privateer. After Caroline eventually lost faith in him and left, Edward decided to pursue his dream and traveled to the Caribbean, where he quickly turned to piracy. He also befriended a number of fellow pirates including Stede Bonnet, Blackbeard, Benjamin Hornigold, Charles Vane and Mary Read, and helped them establish an independent Pirate Republic in Nassau.
In 1715, Edward inadvertently becomes caught in the Assassin-Templar conflict after killing a rogue Assassin, Duncan Walpole, who planned to defect to the Templars. Impersonating Walpole, Edward attends a Templar meeting in Havana, where he learns that the Caribbean Templars, led by Laureano de Torres y Ayala, seek the Observatory, which will allow them to rule the world from the shadows. Mistakenly believing the Observatory to be housing a vast treasure, Edward decides to seek out Bartholomew Roberts, the only man who knows its location. During his search, Edward is introduced to the Assassins by Mary, revealed to be an Assassin herself, who tries to push Edward to abandon his selfish ways and join the Brotherhood. He also witnesses the collapse of the Pirate Republic due to an ideological split between its leaders, and the deaths of most of his friends over the following years.
Edward eventually secures an alliance with Roberts, who takes him to the Observatory, revealed to be a surveillance facility. However, Roberts then betrays Edward and turns him over to the British authorities, who imprison him in Kingston, Jamaica. Edward escapes with the help of Ah Tabai, the Assassin Mentor, and has a change of heart after witnessing Mary's death, deciding to join the Assassins in her honor. After assassinating Roberts and the Templars to prevent them from misusing the Observatory, Edward receives a letter informing him of Caroline's passing and the existence of his hitherto unknown daughter, Jennifer Scott. Wishing to make amends for his past actions, Edward retires from piracy in order to focus on his new Assassin duties and raising Jennifer, and returns to England. Years later, he fathers a son, Haytham Kenway, with his second wife, Tessa, and becomes a leader of the British Brotherhood based in London.
''Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple''
Edward is the protagonist of Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple, a webtoon which follows his exploits in Southeast Asia a few years after the events of Black Flag and ran from April 2023 to March 2026. After being informed by the Assassins about potential First Civilization ruins in Asia, Edward travels to Macau in 1725 to search for additional leads and locate the ruins before the Templars. In the process, he makes a number of new allies, including John Young, a navigator working for the Dutch East India Company, and Shimazu Saito, a samurai and Japanese Templar also tasked with finding the ruins. Initially clashing with Saito over their pursuit of the same prize, Edward eventually forms a truce with her after she is abandoned by her clan and branded a traitor. These allies assist Edward in his search and help him establish a trade organization called the Zhang Wei Union.After learning that there are three Pieces of Eden spread across Southeast Asia, which will grant immense power if brought together, Edward and his companions embark on a quest to find the artifacts before those seeking to exploit their power. Their opponents include British Templars led by Grand Master Alan Jacob, and a group of Chinese Assassins led by their Mentor, Xiao Han, who seek to rebuild their Brotherhood after it was purged by the Qing Empire. The Zhang Wei Union members' journey takes them to the Philippines, where they secure the first Piece of Eden after defeating Rajah, the leader of a native resistance opposing Spain's colonial rule. However, the artifact's powers prove to have a negative effect on Edward, who begins experiencing strange visions, including some showing future events. After being betrayed by their ally Jan van Aert, the Union members are imprisoned in the Sultanate of Sulu. They manage to escape, but lose their Piece of Eden to Xiao Han, who inadvertently kills John's fiancée, Xialun Qing.
While recovering in Singapore, Edward is reunited with his wife Tessa and daughter Jennifer, who came to warn him about a Templar spy among his inner circle. After retrieving the second Piece of Eden from the Shwedagon Pagoda in Burma, Edward is betrayed by John, who steals the artifact and reveals himself as the spy, claiming the Templars have promised him a way to resurrect Xialun using the Pieces of Eden. While attempting to recover the Piece of Eden from the Templars, the Zhang Wei Union members are led into an ambush but are saved by Jan van Aert. Edward subsequently decides to resume his partnership with Jan and recruits additional allies from among Batavia's pirates, assembling a large fleet. This fleet helps Edward reach Indochina, fighting through a naval blockade set up by the Templars and the Chinese Assassins' ally, Madam Lee.
As the Zhang Wei Union members, the Chinese Assassins, and the Templars all converge at the Forgotten Temple, a First Civilization site in Angkor, the Temple activates an advanced security protocol, awakening giant stone guardians and creating a temporal anomaly that begins to merge the 18th and 21st centuries. As a result, Edward's consciousness is merged with that of his descendant, Noa Kim, who has been reliving his memories in the present. The Union members and Madam Lee's forces form a truce to fight the stone guardians, and Edward and Saito obtain weapons that can be used to destroy the statues. Edward also runs into John, who has betrayed the Templars, and attempts to make amends with his friend, but John remains set on his goal of resurrecting Xialun.
Inside the Temple, Edward and the others are subjected to simulations based on their pasts, which they are able to overcome. After all parties reach the Temple's core, where the third Piece of Eden is housed, a fight breaks out over possession of the artifacts. Alan Jacob shoots John and seizes all three Pieces of Eden, but is killed moments later by the mortally wounded John. Inspired by his friend's sacrifice, Edward persuades Saito and Xiao Han to end their fight, convincing them that they do not need the Pieces of Eden and that they can accomplish their goals solely through the support of those who care about them. The Temple shuts down, and Edward, Saito, and Xiao Han decide to split the Pieces of Eden to keep them safe before going their separate ways. Edward returns the artifact taken from the Shwedagon Pagoda and has a conversation with Noa across time. Due to his visions of the future, Edward is aware of the fate that awaits him and acknowledges his own story will be over soon, but encourages Noa to forge his own path. Later, he returns home to his family, where he discovers that Tessa gave birth to a boy after the night they spent in Singapore, and decides to name his newborn son Haytham.