It was only a matter of time before one of the most popular game franchises in the industry found its way to the big screen, and now — almost a decade after the first Gears of War game hit shelves — Microsoft’s blockbuster series is officially becoming a movie.
Plans to develop the sci-fi action series into a movie were announced during a live-stream event promoting next week’s release of Gears of War 4. Warcraft studio Universal Pictures is bringing the film to the big screen.
“As a way to support the franchise, the next logical step was to make the movie,” explained Rod Fergusson, studio head of Gears of War developer The Coalition, according to Variety. “We’d done comics and novels in the past but the opportunity to work with Universal to bring the movie to life was perfect.”
The first Gears of War was released for the Xbox 360 in November 2006, and began chronicling the story of humanity’s battle against a species of reptilian creatures called the “Locust Horde,” who live on a far-off planet similar to Earth. The Locust emerge from under the surface of the planet and destroy most of the human population, leaving the remaining survivors to seek refuge in sanctuaries built atop impenetrable rock. In order to protect the survivors, the government forms a military force called “Gears” tasked with safeguarding the pockets of humanity left on the planet and finding ways to end the threat posed by the Locust.
The original game spawned three sequels and a prequel game set in the years between the emergence of the Locust and the events of the 2006 game, as well as a comic book series and various novels, among other spinoff projects.
It’s unknown whether the upcoming film will adapt the story from the original game and its sequels, or if it will tell an entirely new story based on the universe established by the franchise. The first three games in the franchise followed the adventures of one particular character, Marcus Fenix, while the prequel focused on one of his squad mates. The upcoming Gears of War 4 features Marcus’ son, J.D.
Along with Universal Pictures, producers Scott Stuber (The Kingdom) and Dylan Clark (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) are overseeing the adaptation.
Gears of War 4 will be released October 11.