Stern, but Fair
A film adaptation of the Gears of War franchise has been on the table since the first game came out. That’s been about a decade, but the project is still where it was back then. There has not been any developments to speak of besides Dave Bautista’s unending, unrelenting fight to make it happen. The biggest hold up in making a Gears of War movie may actually be the biggest advocate for the Gears franchise: The Coaltion. This is a very good thing though. As much as studios are in the business of expanding the brand and making money, The Coalition is also adamant on making quality products.
Creative director and studio head of The Coaltion Rod Fergusson spoke with Screen Rant about the hypothetical Gears movie recently. He was asked about what he wanted to see in a Gears movie from Universal Pictures, who is developing the movie:
“Yeah, I mean, we talked about this a lot. Between us, me and the producers and the studio at Universal. Basically, I wanted to make it really simple for them to be creative in that space. Much like when I work with the book author or the comic book author, I try to find some pocket of negative space where they could play and not feel obliged. [Not] like they’re going to redefine my lore, or that I’m going to overly constrict them. What I told the told Universal and Dylan Clark Productions was, “Make a great movie first, and make a Gears movie second.”
As long as you make a great movie, we can always Gears-ify it. I would rather it be known as a great movie that is Gears-based than a Gears movie that isn’t so good. It’s an alternate reality – not that I’m saying it’s different characters, different worlds, different anything. I just mean an alternate reality in that they don’t feel beholden to the game story. So, if you need Maria to live in your movie, I’m okay with that. If Dom needs to live for the movie, I’m okay with that.
Because at the end of the day, if you sell movie tickets to just Gears of War fans, that’s not sufficient. It has to be a great movie first and appeal to everyone, so that’s what I’m really pushing them on. “Hey, don’t worry so much about, like, what is the right number of teeth on the Lancer chainsaw?” I’m more worried about, you know, how do I have great relationships with characters and dramatic tension and just a kick ass story.”
Fergusson sounds pretty laid back about it. The Gears of War franchise has been known to be pretty cinematic already, so what is important is that Universal really nails a good story. The “pocket of negative space” comment is interesting. Obviously, trying to cram a 10 or 20 or 30 hour game into a 2 hour movie is a recipe for disaster, so finding a safe play space for the filmmakers is a great idea. There is no release date or window for a Gears movie, but Gears 5 will be available September 10th on PC and Xbox One.
What would you like to see in a Gears of War movie? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Screen Rant