If any video game has the potential to translate fantastically to the big screen, it's "Gears of War." The fan-favorite science fiction shoot-'em-up has all of the ingredients you could possibly want — a vicious and visceral world filled with equally eye-grabbing creatures, weaponry, technology and all sorts of other visual wonders that would hold an audience's attention for a two-hour runtime.
Of course, everything comes down to how the movie itself gets made. We already know that Len Wiseman has taken the director gig. We also know that Chris Morgan and Billy Ray have both pitched in on the script. What isn't entirely known, however, is the film's specific story.
Thanks to producer Wyck Godfrey, the plot for "Gears of War" is coming into sharper focus. Godfrey told Making Of that the movie will break away from the video game by showcasing the origin story of the conflict between man and Locust.
"The hard part is how to make it into something that doesn't feel like a world torn asunder and people just in battle," he described. "I think we really want to focus on the idea of a world that's running well, and then it's Emergence Day and kind of make it impactful and immediate and the survival of those 48 hours as people survive Emergence Day. It's more like 'Cloverfield' or something like that."
In the "Gears of War" games, players assume the roles of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, a soldier duo that are immediately thrust into battle against the vicious Locust Horde. It sounds like the movie won't take that approach, however, as Godfrey explained that jumping straight into the Locust side of things might not appeal to moviegovers given the current global atmosphere.
"Trying to tell the epic story of an alien planet that's living in a horrific environment just feels like the wrong mood right now," he said.
Personally, I'm always a bit cautious when it comes to breaking too far away from source material — but in this case, focusing "Gears of War" on the arrival of Emergence Day actually makes some sense in setting up the movie's tone and greater universe. Subsequent sequels, of course, could hop straight into the action.
Then again, I'm not sure how wild I am about the comparison to "Cloverfield." That was a cool movie in its own right, but very different from what I'd like to see in "Gears of War" in terms of scope and style. For now, I'm filing this under the wait-and-see category.
What do you think of Godfrey's take on the "Gears of War" plot? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
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