Netflix Officially to Adapt Another Popular Shooter Game for the Movies

Netflix is moving forward with a new Gears of War movie, and David Leitch is attached to direct and co-produce. In an interview, producer McCormick shared some updates on the project.

“We’re writing right now with Jon Spaihts, and we’re really excited about it,” McCormick said.

“There’s a lot of energy from The Coalition and from Netflix, because The Coalition is releasing a game in 2026. We won’t hit that release date, but maybe something that feels relevant to the release of the new game.”

“It’s an opportunity for David to do a war film, which he hasn’t gotten to do yet, and a bit of sci-fi in his own way with this beloved IP in his own way.” McCormick said.

The Gears of War movie has been in development for almost two decades. Back in March 2007, New Line Cinema bought the rights to adapt the popular video game series. Stuart Beattie was set to write the script, and Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey were attached as producers.

Godfrey said of the series, “I’m not a gamer, but what blew me away about Gears was how it captures the mythology of a war mission and how high the stakes are.” Len Wiseman was reported to direct in 2007, but the project didn’t move forward at that time. Cliff Bleszinski, the lead designer of the games, served as an executive producer and consultant.

The project remained quiet for years. In October 2016, during the launch of Gears of War 4, The Coalition’s Rod Fergusson confirmed that a theatrical movie adaptation was in development at Universal Pictures.

Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark were set to produce under Universal’s Bluegrass Films division, but no director or writer had been chosen at that time. Fergusson said the movie’s place in the Gears of War universe had been decided.

Universal hired Shane Salerno in May 2017 to write the screenplay, with Fergusson noting that “the movie won’t be based on one of the games but a new story set in the universe.” F. Scott Frazier was later reported to work on the script in 2018. Despite these efforts, the film did not move forward in theaters.

In November 2022, Netflix officially picked up the project for streaming and began collaborating with The Coalition on the film. Jon Spaihts was reported as the screenwriter in March 2023. On May 15, 2025, It’s been confirmed that David Leitch would direct and co-produce the movie.

The new Gears of War adaptation promises a mix of war and sci-fi action, bringing the beloved video game series to a wider audience on Netflix.

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