We’ve know that Microsoft has been trying to get a film based on their video game franchise Gears of War off the ground for a while now, but for years it’s been stalled, seemingly stuck in development hell. Now, however, it seems that things are starting to pick up.
With the release of the fourth instalment in the series arriving next week, Variety reports that Universal Pictures is developing the adaptation alongside producers Scott Stuber (Ted) and Dylan Clark (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and The Coalition, the studio that’s behind Gears of War 4.
“As a way to support the franchise the next logical step was to make the movie,” Rod Fergusson, head of The Coalition, told Variety. “We’d done comics and novels in the past but the opportunity to work with Universal to bring the movie to life was perfect.”
“That’s one of the great things about working with Universal,” he continued. “We’re finding that line where we can say it has enough lore and canon that it feels genuine to the game while at the same time going beyond that and asking ‘OK what makes a great movie?’”
No word yet on which game in the series the movie will adapt, nor if it will be a straight adaptation or present a brand new story that’s just set in the Gears universe. Either way though, we’ll remain cautiously optimistic of this one. While the Gears of War franchise is certainly ripe for adaptation, it’s no secret that movies based on video games usually turn out to be complete bombs.
Admittedly, that trend may change soon with the likes of films such as Assassin’s Creed and Tomb Raider, but until we get a bit more information on the Gears of War movie, we’ll reserve judgement and instead turn our excitement towards the fourth instalment in the series, which drops on October 11th.