A Gears of War movie is in development at Netflix, but is it ever going to happen? That remains to be seen, but director David Leitch of John Wick fame recently said the movie will “hopefully” come to fruition “soon.”
Speaking to ScreenRant, Leitch said, “I think everybody’s excited about the potential of this as a film universe.”
He added: “I wish I could tell you more, because there’s some much cool stuff going on.”
Netflix recently underwent a big shift in management, with film chief Dan Lin exiting the company alongside longtime chief content officer Bela Bajaria. Former Former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice is now the new chief content officer. He was only just recently installed in the post, so it remains to be seen what changes Rice could make. There is, however, precedent for new management making big changes, as Netflix’s BioShock movie was scaled back under the leadership of Lin.
The latest script for the Gears of War movie as of 2025 was written by Jon Spaihts, who previously wrote Prometheus, Doctor Strange, and Passengers, along with Dune 1 and 2.
A decades-long wait
Gears of War fans have been waiting decades for their promised Gears of War movie. All the way back in 2007, a year after the first Gears of War game came out, New Line Cinema purchased the rights to make a movie based on the game. Nothing ever came of that. Then in 2016, the Gears of War movie rights changed hands and went to Universal. Nothing came of that, either.
In 2022, Netflix announced a deal with Microsoft to make not only a Gears of War movie, but also an animated TV series (which we don’t know anything about). It’s been four years since then and the project remains in development, but things tend to fall apart in Hollywood, so there are no guarantees it’ll actually happen.
Netflix is also working on an Assassin’s Creed TV show, and that one is actually going to happen, as it is now filming. Additionally, Netflix is behind the BioShock movie from The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence, and it’s set to begin production in 2027.
Who could be in the Gears of War movie?
Wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has lobbied for years to play Marcus, and he does bear a strong resemblance to the character, but no casting announcements for the Gears of War movie have been made. He’s already involved in a big video game project, as he’s starring as Kratos in Prime Video’s God of War show. Meanwhile, Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski has previously been adamant that Chris Pratt shouldn’t play any role in the film.
What about the Gears of War games?
The latest entry in the game series was this year’s Gears of War: E-Day, a highly regarded action game that reportedly has not sold very well. No new games in the series have been announced, but developer The Coalition has said it won’t take another seven years to make a follow-up.
Zooming further out, Xbox is undergoing a major “reset” that has included mass layoffs, game cancellations, and studio closures/divestitures. Developers at The Coalition said they fear for their jobs.
