It was widely assumed the Gears of War film had died an untimely and fiery death when the $150 million project under director Len Wiseman (Underworld) was scrapped. Now an intentional and unintentional update proves the project is instead hitting the reset button.
The first evidence came in an email signature from Microsoft’s Xbox publicists announcing Ice-T had joined the cast of Gears of War 3. It reads, “The ‘Gears of War’ series is one of the most popular franchises in Xbox history, having sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and spawning New York Times best-selling novels, an upcoming film and more.” We haven’t seen that particular signature before so can only assume it was written that way intentionally.
In addition, Gears of War movie producer Wyck Godfrey chatted for the second time now with Making Of about the status of the film. “We got really close to making it with [director] Len Wiseman,” he said. “…We’ve kind of gone back to the drawing board and we’re about to hire a writer and do something that’s much more experiential and less of the big, bloated videogame movie, which we’re actually creatively excited about.”
It sounds like the action and effects of the Gears of War film are being toned back, to be replaced by more character backstory and plot that would cost less. Should the lower-budget Gears of War concept pan out financially for Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. and New Line, then a sequel could expand on the action and raise the budget. They need to look no further than District 9 for an example of creating a compelling science fiction story with plenty of action that does not break the bank.
