After many years of failed attempts, the Gears of War film was finally confirmed by Netflix in October 2022. The deal didn’t just include a live action movie but also an animated series and potentially other spin-offs, too. Game developer The Coalition, who has spearheaded the series since Gears of War 4, will partner with Netflix on all these projects to ensure authenticity to the universe.
At the time of the announcement, no production names were attached to the Gears of War film. However, Netflix recently announced that acclaimed writer Jon Spaihts would be in charge of the adaptation. Spaihts said in a statement:
Gears of War is one of the all-time great action games, with vivid characters, a beautifully designed world, and a combat system that drives home the lethality of war and the importance of standing by your squadmates. It wants to be cinema, and I’m thrilled to have the chance to help that happen.
For its part, The Coalition also commented on the news with the following statement:
We’re thrilled to partner with Jon and the Netflix team to bring Gears of War to life. Jon is a master storyteller with a talent for creating epic science-fiction universes and he truly loves Gears of War. We couldn’t ask for a better partner to honor our franchise and deliver an authentic story to our fans.
Indeed, Jon Spaihts’ credits include Prometheus, Doctor Strange, Passengers, Dune: Part One (for which he received nominations at BAFTA and the Academy Awards), and the upcoming Dune: Part Two, due to launch this November in theaters.
Needless to say, this is the first step toward production of the actual Gears of War film, though we might still have to wait a few years until we get to watch it. Meanwhile, it has been over three years since the release of the last mainline game in the series (Gears 5), and there’s a chance The Coalition might be gearing up to show something at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase on June 12th. The studio was previously believed to be working on a side project first to get acquainted with Unreal Engine 5, but according to a recent rumor from Jeff Grubb, that has been canceled in favor of a renewed focus on Gears 6. On that note, former writer Joshua Ortega may have returned to the series, according to a tweet from late February.
