Gears of War is getting a movie adaptation, which is kind of an odd choice. The games aren't really known for their strong narratives, as they mostly boiled down to stories about big meaty men blowing things up, and then fist-bumping each other. However, the series is very popular, so Hollywood was going to come calling sooner or later. Plus, it should be fun to watch dudes chainsaw through Locust soldiers on the big screen.
The biggest obstacle will be the old video game movie curse. There really hasn't been a good video game adaptation, unless you want to count the Mortal Kombat movie, or you're some weirdo who's really into the Super Mario Bros. movie. If this is going to be the one to break the curse, what would it take to make a great Gears of War movie?
What We Know
Right now we only have a bit of information about the upcoming Gears film. It was announced back in 2016 and will be produced by Universal Studios. The script is being written by F. Scott Frazier, who previously wrote such classics as xXx: Return Of Xander Cage, and Collide, a random John Cusack action film. His resume isn't very impressive, which is a little worrisome. Aside from that, the movie looks like it will follow the plot of the first game, with Marcus Fenix being busted out of jail in order to take the fight to the Locust hordes.
One thing that hasn't been addressed as of yet is who will play Marcus Fenix and the rest of the gang in the movie. Dave Bautista, star of the recent Stuber, as well as the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies, has been campaigning pretty hard to play the role of the main protagonist. It's not hard to see why, the guy is almost a dead ringer for Marcus, throw a bandana on his head and you're ready to go. But somehow the producers of this film disagree, as Bautista recently tweeted out that, despite his best efforts, it doesn't look like he's getting the role.
The Perfect Cast
The big worry here is that Universal is going to try to cast someone young, pretty, and generic to play Marcus, someone like an Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who can just stand around in a military uniform and yell "hoo-rah" in the blandest way possible. Marcus Fenix isn't exactly bursting with personality, but he needs to be someone who seems tired, world-weary but also is fed up with everyone's nonsense and ready to kick ass. How the producers don't see that Bautista is perfect for this role is insane, and if they want to make a truly great Gears film, then they better have a pretty creative alternative. Otherwise, they're making a huge mistake.
Like Marcus, the other members of Delta Squad need the right actors to portray them as well. Terry Crews seems to be shooting for a part in the film, and if they're looking to cast Cole Train, then Crews has to be on their radar. As for someone who could play the smug, sarcastic role of Damon Baird, one possible suggestion is The Boys' Antony Starr, who plays the villainous Homelander. While that role is a bit harsher than Baird, Starr looks the part, and would be able to bring the kind of smarmy wit that the blond Gears soldier often displays.
As for Dom, his casting is the trickiest, although the actor whose name is thrown around the most for the role is Edgar Ramirez, star of Zero Dark Thirty, and The Assassination Of Giavanni Versace: American Crime Story. He seems like he'd be able to pull off the role, bringing the level of sensibility and tired desperation that Dom has, plus he's got the jawline too.
The Perfect Story
As previously mentioned, the story synopsis for the film on IMDB seems to indicate that it will follow the first game, but if all the movie is going to do is play the same beats as the first Gears, chances are it'll fall flat. Gears Of War wasn't exactly Gone With The Wind in the story department, but all was forgiven because being able to wield a gun with a chainsaw attached was a bunch of stupid fun. In order to save the Gears movie from just being another bland sci-fi flick, they need to explore what the actual effects that the events of the game would have on society.
Imagine if it was revealed that a major city like Chicago or New York, in contrast to the game's fictional setting, was built over a secret civilization of monster people, and now they were declaring war on the surface dwellers. That would have pretty big ramifications for everybody. We didn't often get to see how people were coping with the aftermath of the war with the Locust, and seeing that human struggle in between the gory bits could humanize Marcus and the others, and add some context to all the bloody gore.
In Order To Be A Gears Movie...
Also, it goes without saying that if this movie doesn't get an R rating, then it's game over. There needs to be blood, there need to be soldiers getting torn apart, and we need to see the horror of this alien war. If we get a PG-13 Gears where we can't see the violence, and Marcus is barely allowed to swear, then this movie will just seem like a hollow attempt to cash in on the Gears fanbase.
You could also maybe have some shots that pay homage to the games, such as the camera following Marcus as he roadie runs into cover, or Dom chainsawing his way through a Locust from head to toe. Furthermore, if you really want to be faithful, a scene of the gang fighting or even controlling a Brumak would be wild to watch on the big screen. When it comes to the enemy, the Locust need to be terrifying, especially if General Raam is in the movie as the villain. We need that trademark Gears "ultra violence," and we need to see an interesting version of the Locust.
You could even throw in some nods to the advertising campaigns as well, as they often had more emotion and story-telling than most of the games. The infamous "Mad World" and "Last Day" commercials for both Gears 1 and 2 managed to portray the melancholy and bleakness of the world, and that should be what the movie is. It shouldn't be devoid of fun, but it needs that grittiness, that darkness that so many of the Gears games have. It needs to seem like humanity only has a sliver of a chance of surviving this war, and that Marcus and Delta Squad are the one shred of hope the people on Sera have.
It's fairly safe to be skeptical about just how well the Gears movie is going to do. Beyond the awful track record that video game movies already have, they have the perfect Marcus in Dave Bautista, but for whatever asinine reason, the people behind the movie don't seem to want him. They might not even want Terry Crews either, which is insane because who doesn't want Terry Crews?!
Still, if they cast people who are able to embody these characters, and aren't just pretty boys who can read lines off of cue cards, then the movie could still have a chance. It needs to be fun, but also bleak, dark, and violent, kind of like Terminator 2: Judgement Day or Aliens. This is ostensibly a sci-fi war story, and it needs to feel that way. It needs to be R-rated, it needs to be gory, there has to be plenty of cool alien designs and a lot of Baird one-liners.
At The End Of The Last Day
Hopefully F. Scott Frazier and the producers of this film have at least a tiny bit of reverence for the Gears of War series. Otherwise, this could end up as big of a joke as the Sonic The Hedgehog movie.