Two of Microsoft’s tent pole games for the Xbox 360 are getting movie adaptations. The Halo (Bungie) and Gears of War (Epic) franchises have sold roughly 37-million units for the company and have helped the 360 become a must-own gaming console.
While Halo somehow ended up in “development hell” despite the incredible Halo: Arms Race short directed by the attached Neill Blomkamp (District 9). The Gears of War movie has been incubating slowly with Len Wiseman signed on to direct.
Now comes news via IESB that the Halo movie may have a pulse once again. That none other than Steven Speilberg and DreamWorks are actively pursuing it to go along with their newly minted distribution deal with Disney. They went on to say that “Spielberg is blown away by writer Stuart Beattie’s take on the game in his script entitled HALO THE FALL OF REACH.”
The film lovin’ peeps over at Latino Review who teased us with some script details say this:
“The script is, first and foremost, a character-driven story about a soldier named John who was kidnapped or “conscripted” by the UNSC when he was just six years old, and then brutally trained to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117.
The script then takes us through the horrific first contact with the Covenant hordes on the doomed colony world of Harvest, and then climaxes with the spectacular fall of the UNSC forward base on Reach, during which every other Spartan is slaughtered.”
There’s a little more to their script coverage over at LR along with some concept art.
As I couldn’t make it to the San Diego Comic-Con this year I also couldn’t make it to Gears of War panel where director Len Wisemen, screen writer Chris Morgan, and Executive Producer Cliff Bleszinski discussed the film.
Here’s the Coles Notes version:
- Len Wiseman was attracted to Gears when it made a cameo in Die Hard.
- The Rock will not be in the movie.
- He wants “an actor” for the part of Marcus Fenix.
- The movie will centre around emergence day.
- It will be a big spectacle while focusing on the humour and comraderie between the characters.
- It’s setup at Legendary Pictures (The Dark Knight, 300, Watchmen)
- Cliff brought up District 9 and how they’ve been geeking out over it during conference calls.
- They don’t want to put everything from the game into the movie
- They want the video game to be a movie for grown-ups.
- There’s a slim chance Kate Beckinsale could be playing Maria, the wife of Dominic Santiago, Marcus’ best friend.
I don’t know about you, but I think the Gears universe already has a decent storyline and would be one bad ass sci-fi film. I’m thinking along the lines of Aliens here. Personally, I’m more excited for the Gears movie, but after I see District 9 this weekend I’m sure that opinion may change if Blomkamp was still to helm Halo, but as it sits now I think an R-rated Gears has my attention – even with Speilberg vying for the rights of Master Chief.
Gears of War Source: Kotaku
