Netflix's Gears of War Movie Advances; Marcus Fenix Uncast

The director of The Fall Guy is reportedly in talks to helm Netflix’s upcoming Gears of War film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, David Leitch—who also directed Atomic Blonde (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Hobbs & Shaw (2019), and Bullet Train (2022)—is currently negotiating to direct Gears of War, the feature adaptation of Microsoft’s explosive third-person action video game.

Leitch and Kelly McCormick are expected to produce alongside Gears developer The Coalition. Jon Spaihts (Dune) is said to be writing the screenplay.

It has been two and a half years since Netflix secured the rights to Gears of War, but it now appears the project is finally moving forward. An adult animated series is also reportedly in development, intended to follow the movie’s release. Should these adaptations prove successful, additional Gears content is expected.

A major question remains: who will portray Gears protagonist Marcus Fenix? Wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has repeatedly and emphatically expressed his strong desire to play the role. He also has endorsement from Gears co-creator Cliff Bleszinski.

We are in a golden age for video game adaptations, with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Minecraft film, and the Sonic movies all setting box office records. Additionally, the Uncharted movie, Mortal Kombat reboot, Resident Evil series, and more continue to expand the genre.

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In March, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer stated that the shortcomings of the Halo TV adaptation have not deterred Microsoft from pursuing more adaptations of its video games. Spencer said the company has learned from Halo and is gaining confidence in this space. As a result, fans should expect more projects in the future.

"We are learning and growing through this process, which is giving us more confidence to pursue further adaptations,” Spencer said.

“We learned from our experiences with Halo and Fallout. These projects build on each other. While we may have a few that don’t succeed, I want to assure the Xbox community that enjoys this content: you will see more, because we are becoming more confident and learning as we go.”

On the video game front, The Coalition is currently developing the prequel Gears of War: E-Day, which does not yet have a release date.