According to reports, Netflix is planning both a live-action feature film and an adult animated series for Gears of War. More importantly, series creator, Cliff Bleszinski, wants to see Dave Bautista as the star of the former.
Live-action and animated adaptations of popular video games have become something of a staple for streaming platforms. Amazon has Fallout: The Series while HBO is making The Last of Us.
The streaming giant Netflix has given us some of the best adaptations of video games in the last couple of years. The successful, albeit, troubled Witcher series has been extremely popular.
The shortlived Cyberpunk Edgerunner helped revive a struggling AAA video game. Netflix also has Castlevania, DOTA: Dragon's Blood, Arcane: League of Legends, and Tekken: Bloodline adaptations which have been very entertaining.
It looks like Netflix is adding to the lineup as it acquired the rights to the Gears of War franchise. The streaming giant is collaborating with The Coalition, developers of the third-person shooter.
Netflix is not the first company to attempt a live-action feature film for Gears of War. New Line Cinema acquired the rights to the franchise fifteen years ago.
Len Wiseman, director for Total Recall, was tapped to helm the project alongside Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra screenwriter, Stuart Beattie. Unfortunately, the project fell apart due to budget cuts and Wiseman stepped down as director to focus on other projects.
Universal Pictures later took a shot at developing a new story based on the Gears of War universe in 2017, but it hasn't gained traction in years.
Netflix is the third studio to attempt to get a Gears of War adaptation off the ground. No cast or crew has been announced for the film as of writing. At the same time, the streaming giant is reviving the stalled live-action adaptation of the Bioshock series which has had a similar series of setbacks as Gears of War.
Everything about Netflix's Gears of War projects remains unclear, but Cliff Bleszinski already has one man for the job.
Oh and yes, Bautista as Marcus please - and a Latino actor for Dom, dammit.
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) November 7, 2022
The former pro-wrestler has found success in Hollywood, appearing in numerous big movies such as Riddick, Army of the Dead, and Dune. His most successful role is portraying Drax the Destroyer in the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers movies. He is set to reprise his role in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume III.
Bautista previously expressed interest in portraying the character of Marcus Fenix from the Gears franchise. He stated that it would be a "dream role" and revealed that he has been pursuing the project for years.
It will be some time before we see the project in production. Hopefully, Netflix will finally deliver the live-action adaptation of the franchise that fans have been waiting for.
