Gears of War heading to the big screen

First, the good news: Variety reports that a Gears of War film is being made by New Line and Temple Hill. Even better, it’s not being thrown together by Uwe Boll or Paul W.S. Anderson, so it has at least the possibility of being watchable.

Len Wiseman of Underworld and Live Free or Die Hard fame is taking over the film. Not only that, but the script by Stuart Beattie, already the writer for 30 Days of Night, is being put through a new draft by Chris Morgan (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift). Maybe that whole "watchable" thing isn't a reasonable expectation after all.

On the other hand, there is the possibility of brilliance in the making. Gears of War isn’t exactly known for its nuanced story and witty dialogue; it’s a macho-power fantasy where space marines grunt a lot and kill aliens in some sort of vague, futuristic dystopia. With that in mind, this might be just the team to put together a testosterone fest that can appeal to a summer blockbuster audience. In any case, expect lots of explosions.

The film is being greenlit immediately, with Epic Games’ Cliffy Bleszinski acting as executive producer. Gears of War 2 (the game) is set for release this November.

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