Netflix has tapped Academy Award nominee Jon Spaihts (Dune: Part One & Two) to pen its live-action Gears of War film, based on the hit video game series, Deadline can confirm.
First announced by the streamer back in November, the project will be produced in partnership with The Coalition, with an adult animated series set in the world of the games to follow, and the potential for further stories going forward.
Debuting on Xbox in 2006 and going on to sell 40M+ copies across six installments, Gears of War watches as a society divided and on the brink of collapse faces total extinction by the Locust, a monstrous threat from below. Delta Squad, a ragtag fireteam led by disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix, is then charged with leading humanity’s last stand.
Hollywood has been attempting to adapt the games for the screen for many years, with Universal being the last studio attempting to get a film together in 2016, and New Line among others having previously taken their shot.
Known for his work on features including Passengers, Doctor Strange, Prometheus and The Darkest Hour, Spaihts won an Oscar for co-writing Denis Villeneuve’s Warner Bros epic Dune and has also co-written the second installment in the series based on Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novel, which is set for release on November 3.
News of Spaiht’s involvement with Netflix’s Gears of War film was first reported by Variety.
