In celebration of the franchise’s 16-year anniversary, Netflix has officially announced it has greenlit a live-action Gears of War movie (the third major attempt after New Line Cinema and Universal Pictures).
Partnering with The Coalition for its latest video game adaptation, the streaming giant also confirmed the feature-length release will be followed by an adult animated series, and potentially “more stories to follow.”
Gears of War follows the story of civilisation over a decade after Emergence Day (E-Day) when the genocidal subterranean threat known as the Locust Horde declares war on the human race by killing countless COG soldiers and civilians.
In the first instalment, former COG soldier Marcus Fenix is reinstated into the military after spending four years in prison for abandoning his post to save his father. Dominic “Dom” Santiago, Marcus’ best friend and fellow COG, successfully extracts Fenix and takes him to meet Delta Squad.
The cadre seeks to obtain the “resonator” – a device that maps out the caverns where the Locust dwell – in order to deploy the “Lightmass Bomb” and destroy the heart of the Locust forces.
Of course, it’s never really that simple. Hence why this hit 2006 Xbox / Microsoft Windows title spawned four sequels and a spin-off prequel in Gears of War: Judgement.
According to Microsoft, the Gears of War franchise has sold over 22 million units and generated over $1 billion in revenue (as of January 2014).
In case it wasn’t painfully obvious, video game adaptations are clearly the future of content. Netflix has already churned out the likes of The Witcher, Castlevania, DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, Arcane, Resident Evil, Tekken: Bloodline, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and The Cuphead Show!; with plenty more coming to a streaming queue near you soon, ranging from a live-action Assassin’s Creed project, live-action Horizon Zero Dawn series, to animated Splinter Cell and Tomb Raider releases, plus a Bioshock movie.
Outside of the crimson N, there’s been considerable hype surrounding HBO’s The Last of Us starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Amazon Prime’s Fallout series, AMC’s Alan Wake series, the upcoming Borderlands and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves movies, as well as Paramount’s ongoing Halo series.
Between all this, Netflix’s Gears of War movie, and oodles of superhero flicks, it really has never been a better time to be a nerd.