Fans have been asking for a Gears of War movie for years. Nearly two decades since its inception, Microsoft’s third-person shooter game franchise continues to be very popular, promoting the Xbox brand and selling Xbox consoles. Since 2007, a Gears of War film has been in development purgatory. Dave Bautista is a favorite pick for the lead role of Marcus Fenix in a potential film adaptation. Despite Bautista’s passion for getting the movie made, nothing has yet materialized.
A television series based on another Xbox game franchise, Halo, will be making its way to Paramount+ in 2022. Gears of War is yet to receive the same treatment. The Gears games combine military action with epic storytelling in a brutal, horror sci-fi world. With great characters like Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, Kait Diaz, and the Carmines, Hollywood will miss out on a truly incredible franchise if Gears never makes its way to the big screen. Here are five reasons why a Gears of War movie with Dave Bautista could work.
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5 Recent Movies Based on Video Games Are Popular
Warner Bros. Pictures
Films based on video games have not had the best rep, contributing to what is widely known as the “video game movie curse.” They often fail to understand and honor the source material, become financially successful, attract a wide enough audience, or work well as a film. Often, it is a combination of those reasons. In recent years however, video game movies have bucked the trend. 2019 saw the release of the first live-action Pokémon film, Detective Pikachu. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, and Kathryn Newton. Detective Pikachu loosely adapts the 2016 Pokémon game of the same name, successfully appealing to many Pokémon fans and grossing over $400 million worldwide.
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Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage (2018), Alicia Vikander’s Tomb Raider (2018), and Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) all became successful enough for sequels to enter development. While The WitcherNetflix series is based on the books rather than the games, Witcher-lead Henry Cavill developed his love for The Witcher primarily through the games. Season 1 of The Witcher became a huge win for Netflix, amassing significant viewership numbers. Netflix is also developing a live-action Resident Evil series and a Cyberpunk 2077 anime.
In 2021, a Mortal Kombatfilm became HBO Max’s most successful film launch. Recent live-action projects based on video games may not be regarded as cinematic masterpieces, but their successes show that the potential and the interest is there.
4 The Gears Universe Offers Great Storytelling Opportunities
Microsoft, Xbox Game Studios
The world of Gears of War is ripe with storytelling opportunities. There is a reason why the Gears of War franchise continues to have a passionate fanbase after fifteen years. That passion allows the franchise to tell stories outside of the mainline games including comics and novels.
On the very surface, Gears is the simple story of human soldiers (referred to as “Gears”) of the Coalition of Ordered Governments fighting against a monstrous enemy known as the Locust. When going deeper, the Locust are revealed to actually be mutated humans. An entire backstory behind the origins of the Locust inject the Gears universe with some frightening horror sci-fi. The basic premise of Gears of War may be very straightforward, but it allows for lots of depth and great storytelling. The characters that live in the Gears universe, including Marcus, Dom, and Kait Diaz, have had to toughen up to be able to survive. It is a very unforgiving world, full of violence, where characters are brutally killed and monsters are often killed by a chainsaw going through their chest.
Characters suffer great loss, losing their friends and family throughout the Gears of War series. However, the characters still manage to find light in the darkness. They still experience joy, find the courage to perform feats of heroism, and they develop a camaraderie with their fellow Gears. Strong themes of family are also present in the franchise, with JD Fenix trying to live up to his father’s legacy, and Kait Diaz struggling with her relation to the Queen of the Locust. The opportunities for epic storytelling in the Gears of War universe are endless.
3 Dave Bautista Has Already Played Marcus Fenix
The Coalition, Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft
Gears of War game-developer, The Coalition, is well-aware of Dave Bautista’s status as a fan favorite pick for Marcus Fenix. That’s why Dave Bautista actually plays Marcus Fenix in a Gears of War video game. John DiMaggio, voice actor of Marcus Fenix since the beginning, continues to play Fenix in Gears 5 (2019). However, an update added to the game by The Coalition allows players to swap DiMaggio for Bautista.
The option replaces the face model for Marcus Fenix with one that resembles Dave Bautista. All of the voice lines, in both multiplayer and single-player campaign modes, have also been entirely re-recorded. Dave Bautista already lives and breathes in the Gears of War universe, interacting with other characters and fighting the Locust and the Swarm. What better qualifies an actor to play Marcus Fenix in a Gears of War film than being officially inserted in a Gears of War game?
2 Dave Bautista’s Passion for Gears of War
Dave Bautista is so interested in starring in a Gears of War movie that he turned down Fast & Furious to pitch a Gears of War movie. He refers to playing Marcus Fenix as a “dream role” and that he has “tried everything” to make it happen. It is rare for an actor to be this interested and this qualified for a film role. While best recognized as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bautista is a skilled actor with impressive range as evidenced by other films including Blade Runner 2049. Bautista’s interest in the role of Marcus Fenix is not dissimilar to when Henry Cavill expressed his interest in playing Geralt in The Witcher series. Having been a fan of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cavill actively campaigned for the role of Geralt. The campaign proved to be successful as, ultimately, Henry Cavill was cast.
Unfortunately, a Gears of War film is still struggling to move forward. Bautista’s time as Drax the Destroyer will be coming to an end with Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. After appearing in Dune and Zack Snyder’s film for Netflix, Army of the Dead, Dave Bautista is now available for a new blockbuster action-franchise.
1 There is Nothing Like Gears of War
Hollywood is constantly on the hunt for the next big thing, and are now heavily focusing on well-known franchises. Reboots, remakes, prequels, and sequels. Audiences are receiving too much of what they already experience. A Gears of War film on the other hand, can bring an incredible balance between the new and the familiar. If done right, it would be made of the ingredients that audiences already know and love, but served as part of a brand new dish.
The military action, horror, superhero, and science-fiction elements are all part of the Gears franchise DNA. Gears of War brings them all together in a way no other franchise does. With a director that understands the source material at the helm, and an actor like Dave Baustista as Marcus Fenix, the Gears of War movie could become something truly special.
