Humans in Sera have been at war with subterranean nightmarish creatures since 2006, when Epic Games released the first installment of its third-person shooter video game. With the Locust Horde bent on erasing human civilization, it’s up to a disgraced war hero, Marcus Fenix, and his friends to put up a fight and save humanity. Upon its release, Gears of War was an instant hit, with over three million copies sold in ten weeks.
The enormous commercial and critical success inspired a quest for a Gears of War movie, alongside a sequel game, which arrived in 2008. Since then, the game has morphed into an enduring media franchise, comprising multiple video games, a board game, a novel series, and several comic book series. Yet, the Gears of War movie, which was the first adaptation announced, hasn’t materialized. What’s up with that?
The Gears of War Movie Has Been In Development Since March 2007
How it started vs. how it's gonna be when Gears of War: Reloaded arrives August 26 pic.twitter.com/9xmBXLyqO1
— Xbox (@Xbox) August 13, 2025
A few months after Gears of War’s release, New Line Cinema swooped up rights for a film adaptation. The production company confirmed its commitment to making a Gears of War movie in March 2007, unveiling Australian filmmaker Stuart Beattie as the scriptwriter with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey as producers. It was reported that New Line was aiming for a 2010 release date, just as Len Wiseman was tapped to direct the movie in June 2008.
Around the same time, Fast & Furious’ writer Chris Morgan began working on a new draft for the script. While fans’ anticipation peaked after he hinted that the movie would serve as a prequel to the first game, the project stalled. Instead of announcing a release date in 2010, New Line slashed the $100 million it had committed to the adaptation, and Wiseman walked away.
The Movie Ran Into Another Dead End With Universal Pictures
After New Line abandoned the adaptation, the movie got a fresh start in April 2013 when Scott Stuber took on the project as a producer through his company Bluegrass Films. His first look deal with Universal Pictures roped in the production company in October 2016. Pre-production commenced, with Universal picking Shane Salerno to write the screenplay.
That was in May 2017. Over a year later, Return of Xander Cage’s writer F. Scott Frazier took up writing the script, with Dave Bautista lobbying to play Marcus Fenix. Much was said about the movie, but nothing materialized at the end. The Gears of War movie never got past the screenwriting phase at Universal.
The Gears of War Movie Is In The Works At Netflix
Gears of War was released 16 years ago today and to mark the occasion, Netflix has partnered with The Coalition to adapt the @GearsofWar video game saga into a live action feature film, followed by an adult animated series — with the potential for more stories to follow! pic.twitter.com/3zInFSnUu4
— Netflix (@netflix) November 7, 2022
After Universal reached a dead end with the project, Netflix acquired rights to make the movie in November 2022 under the leadership of Stuber, who had become head of films at Netflix. In partnership with The Coalition, which became the developer of Gears of War games following Microsoft’s acquisition in January 2014, the streaming giant committed to a feature film adaptation of the game alongside an adult animated series. The streamer is open to creating more stories, depending on the outcome of the live-action feature and animated series.
So, the Gears of War movie has been in development at Netflix since late 2022. Dune’s writer, Jon Spaihts, was hired to provide the script in March 2023. The Coalition confirmed this in a statement that affirmed Spaihts’ competence for the task. “Jon is a master storyteller with a talent for creating epic, science-fiction universes, and he truly loves Gears of War,” read the statement. “We couldn’t ask for a better partner to honor our franchise and deliver an authentic story to our fans,” added the developer.
David Leitch Has Been Tapped To Direct The Film
With Stuber’s departure from Netflix in early 2024, fans imagined that the adaptation would be stalled yet again. This hasn’t happened. Kelly McCormic was engaged as a producer for the project in May 2025, with David Leitch negotiating to direct the film. Having helmed movies like Deadpool 2, Bullet Train, and The Fall Guy, there is no doubt Leitch would deliver a worthy adaptation.
In all, the Gears of War movie has no release date in sight. However, the quest to bring Marcus Fenix and his friends to the big screen hasn’t been abandoned. More details about the project are expected to emerge as soon as pre-production picks up pace at Netflix. Check out updates about the Dead by Daylight film adaptation.
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