In 2007, it was announced that the monstrously popular Gears of War games from Epic would be getting a film adaptation to parallel the ongoing game series. While the series has continued to be popular amongst gamers, plans for the film were eventually halted so that New Line Cinema could concentrate on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit adaptation. However, according to Comic Book Movie, the delta squad might make an appearance on the silver screen after all.
While it’s still in the earliest stages, a script from Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tide) is currently the script that is most seriously being considered as the final version. Epic Games will also consult the eventual filmmakers to ensure that the movie fits into the established canon of the games.
It may seem tempting at this point to scoff at how unnecessary it is to film an adaptation of a game that is supposed to have reached its finale with Gears of War 3. But the Gears of War series, for all its influence on games, takes a number of cues from action, horror and science fiction movies, so if anything it’s an obvious fit for the big screen.
I look forward to seeing what a competent director is willing to do with such a well-established story and though films based on games usually don’t turn out well, I have high hopes for this one. Especially since Epic Games will be directly involved.
What do you think? Is a Gears of War film something that you’d like to see?