Matt Ryan says Black Flag Resynced’s extra story moments are “not just filler.” We break down what the remake is adding to Edward Kenway’s journey and whether Ubisoft can deepen the narrative without dulling what made the original so sharp.
Ubisoft is doing something surprisingly aggressive with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. This is not just a 4K coat of paint on one of the most beloved entries in the series. It is a structural do‑over with newly written scenes, extra missions and fresh performance capture from Edward Kenway actor Matt Ryan.
That immediately raises a scary question for fans who still know every beat of the 2013 campaign by heart: can you bolt new narrative material onto a game whose pacing already felt tight without throwing the whole voyage off course?
Matt Ryan, at least, thinks the answer is yes.
“They’re not just filler”: what Matt Ryan is actually saying
Across new interviews and previews, Ryan has been clear that his return to Edward is about more than fan service. Speaking about the additional story scenes, he stressed that they are “not just filler” and that they “add depth to the character and the story” rather than simply padding out the runtime.
He describes the process of stepping back into Edward as strange, nostalgic and even emotional, comparing it to catching up with an old friend. Ubisoft did not simply reuse archive audio. Ryan came back into the volume for brand new motion‑captured scenes written specifically for Resynced, including key moments that reframe Edward’s personal conflict earlier in the game.
Crucially for pacing concerns, Ryan has hinted that at least one of these scenes, written by original lead writer Darby McDevitt, has become a new favorite within the whole Black Flag script. This is not cut content slotted back in. It is targeted, bespoke material that the creative leads felt was missing in hindsight.
What is actually being added to Black Flag’s story?
Ubisoft has not published a full list of new missions, but between Ryan’s comments and recent previews, a picture is starting to form.
Resynced introduces extra scenes across the main Caribbean storyline that drill further into Edward’s relationships and the pirate crew around him. There is a newly written scene with Edward’s wife Caroline that appears earlier in the narrative, giving more context to why he abandons her for the dream of fame and fortune at sea. Ryan has said this gives his internal conflict “more weight” much sooner than in the original release.
Other additions expand the arcs of standout side characters like Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. These are not cameo flashbacks bolted onto the edges of the game, but new story beats threaded into existing chapters, designed to make those eventual downfalls land harder. Ubisoft has also rebuilt and added missions around key turning points in Edward’s journey, with fresh voice and performance capture from Ryan stitched into them.
On top of that, the studio is reworking some mission structures and travel segments. Sea traversal, stealth encounters and combat encounters are being tuned to feel punchier, with the new story material taking advantage of those modernized systems rather than fighting against them.
Why the original pacing worked so well
Any change to Black Flag’s story flow feels risky because the original game is still held up as one of Ubisoft’s best paced open worlds.
The 2013 version did a few clever things. It threw players into open‑sea piracy quickly, letting you steal ships and chart your own course before burying you under lore. Edward starts as a selfish privateer masquerading as an Assassin, and the game gradually sneaks in the ideology and consequences around him as you revel in naval combat and treasure hunts.
Most of the heavy character work was pushed into sharp, focused cutscenes bracketed by breezy, player‑driven exploration. Even when missions were linear, the loop of sailing, boarding, plundering and returning to the main plot kept the story moving at a clip. The modern‑day segments acted as brief palette cleansers rather than full arcs.
That mix is why so many players remember Black Flag as the “pirate sandbox first, Assassin’s Creed second.” It is also why fans are wary of Ubisoft slowing things down with more talky scenes.
Where new scenes could strengthen the flow
The encouraging part of Ryan’s comments is what the new content actually targets. Rather than stretching out mid‑game voyages or stapling on exposition at the end, Resynced appears to focus on places where Black Flag was always a little thin emotionally.
Edward’s marriage to Caroline is one of those gaps. In the original, she mostly exists in brief flashbacks and in a letter that fuels his guilt. It works, but it relies on players filling in a lot of blanks. Introducing a more substantial early scene between them could anchor Edward’s recklessness in something tangible. If we feel the cost of what he leaves behind before he becomes king of the misfits, his later crisis of conscience can hit harder without adding much extra runtime.
The same logic applies to Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. Their endings in the original are powerful, but relatively sudden. If Resynced spends even a little more time on their hopes, fears or disagreements with Edward before the fall, those existing climaxes can feel richer instead of longer. Ryan’s insistence that these scenes deepen relationships suggests that is the goal: amplify what is already there, not detour into side stories that never pay off.
The key will be how seamlessly these moments are woven into the existing mission framework. If new scenes are used as bridges between already lengthy stretches of sailing and infiltration, they could actually make the overall rhythm feel smoother, breaking up repetition with character rather than more busywork.
The thin line between depth and bloat
All of that said, Ubisoft is walking a narrow plank.
Part of what made Black Flag memorable is how quickly it gets out of your way. The game trusted players to understand Edward through his actions as much as his words. Too much added dialogue or extra stops between big set pieces could undermine that swagger and make Resynced feel like a slower, talkier version of a once freewheeling adventure.
There is also the question of what has been cut or rearranged. Ubisoft has already confirmed that some elements from the original, including portions of the modern‑day framing, have been heavily altered or removed. Those sequences were divisive, but they did give the story a strange, meta texture that separated Black Flag from a generic pirate game.
If Resynced trims that material while bolting on more traditional character drama, it might trade some of the original’s rough‑edged charm for a cleaner, more conventional blockbuster feel. Ryan’s comments about the emotional impact of the new scenes are promising, but they do not answer how the absence of older beats will change the overall balance.
The other danger is that even good scenes can become speed bumps on repeat playthroughs. Black Flag has always been a comfort‑replay kind of game for many fans, something you can dip back into for a few hours of plundering. If Resynced adds too many mandatory cutscenes or scripted segments in the name of depth, it could erode that pick‑up‑and‑sail replayability.
Can Resynced enhance the original without losing it?
Right now, the best argument in Resynced’s favor is the team involved and the specificity of what they are changing. McDevitt returning to write new material, Ryan back in the booth and on the mocap stage, and the focus on Edward’s inner conflict and core crew suggest this is not a content‑for‑content’s‑sake project.
If Ubisoft keeps the additions tight, aims them at emotional gaps rather than mechanical downtime, and continues to respect the player’s control over the pace of exploration, Black Flag Resynced could end up feeling like a director’s cut that many fans did not realize they wanted. A slightly sharper prologue with Caroline, a little more texture for Blackbeard and Stede, and a handful of reworked missions to support those changes could enrich the story without strangling its momentum.
On the other hand, if the remake leans too hard into modern Assassin’s Creed habits, where every beat is overexplained and every character needs a multi‑mission arc, the pacing that made Black Flag a fan favorite could easily get dragged under.
Matt Ryan is convinced the new scenes are worth having and that they give Edward’s conflict more weight earlier in the journey. Whether that translates to a better overall experience will come down to how invisible those seams feel when players take the Jackdaw back out to sea this July. Ubisoft has a chance to prove that a remake can meaningfully refine a classic without rewriting its soul. The question now is whether they can resist the urge to overstuff the treasure chest.