Since the video game series Gears of War has been in production for a live-action movie for many years, 2023 has seen a surge in Gears of War movie news, hinting that the Netflix project may be closer than ever. Although it was long believed that the so-called “video game movie curse” prevented fans from seeing good adaptations of their favourite games, this has radically altered. Movies based on video games are tremendous crowd-pleasers and are rising in popularity. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now in development, while Sony lost no time in adapting Gran Turismo, Uncharted, The Last of Us, and other popular games for the 2020s. The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned $1.35 billion.
However, Xbox has been considerably more silent when it comes to live-action adaptations than PlayStation, as several PlayStation-exclusive titles have done. The Halo series from Paramount+ came and went without much excitement. The Gears of War movie on Netflix, one of the most eagerly awaited game-to-live-action adaptations to be in discussion over the last decade, is in production and will alter that in the future. It is based on one of Xbox’s most popular video game series. The video game Gears of War centres on a group of troops who are fighting a genocidal underground foe known as the Locust in an end-of-the-world conflict. Once Gears of War is released, Netflix may deliver on the promise of the series to be an epic R-rated action movie.
Cliff Bleszinski, who created the Gears of War video game franchise, recently remarked on Zack Snyder’s interest in producing the movie. Gears of War would be perfectly within Zack Snyder’s wheelhouse because he helmed Man of Steel, Watchmen, and the upcoming Rebel Moon. He is also no stranger to sci-fi action epics. Bleszinski does have one restriction, though. The author remarked, “I approve but only if @DaveBautista is Marcus…” Bleszinski is referring to Marcus Fenix, the lead character in the original three Gears of War games, who is physically frightening, quick on the draw, and emotionally numb.
Fortunately, Bautista doesn’t appear to require much persuasion. The Guardians of the Galaxy star admitted that he is a fan of the game and that there have been some discussions with him regarding the project. Bautista said of the idea, “Gears has always come up, sort of in our type of circle. It’s my favourite video game movie. I was a fan of the game, so that’s what comes to mind. All the elements are practically in place given that Snyder and Netflix have a good working connection and that Bautista and Snyder previously collaborated on Army of the Dead.
The Gears Of War Movie Is Confirmed On Netflix
There will be a live-action Gears of War movie, as Netflix announced on the streaming service’s 16th birthday in 2022. A Gears of War animated series is also in the works, however it’s unclear if the two endeavours are situated in the same fictional world as the next film. Following years of development hell, the Gears of War movie announcement is welcomed news. The movie rights had been bought by New Line Cinema back in 2007 with Len Wiseman (Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard) set to helm (through CineCon), but they were passed around to various companies, none of whom were able to adapt the video game.
The live-action Gears of War, however, still has to go through a lot of development, since the director hasn’t been chosen, despite Zack Snyder’s stated interest. Netflix still paid a seasoned and well-known screenwriter to compose the script. The writer of the Gears of War film is Jon Spaihts, who is the ideal candidate considering his extensive résumé of masterfully made sci-fi action films like Doctor Strange and Dune. There is no official release date for the Gears of War movie, but considering that there is still no director attached, it is probably still two years or more away, especially given how much post-production is required for the action movie.