Video game movie adaptations have truly evolved over the last few decades. Movies like Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros. (1993), and Warcraft have put a pretty bad taste in Hollywood’s mouth when it comes to game adaptations. However–it’s not all bad. There are some successes. Movies like the recent Mortal Kombat and Cyberpunk Edgerunners prove that creating a good video-game movie or show adaptation is possible. Netflix is taking this baton and running with it, this time with the popular Gears of War franchise.
As announced via Twitter, Netflix will partner with The Coalition to adapt Gears of War into a live feature film and an adult animated series. The Tweet goes on to say,
“Gears of War was released 16 years ago today and to mark the occasion, Netflix has partnered with The Coalition to adapt the @GearsofWar video game saga into a live action feature film, followed by an adult animated series — with the potential for more stories to follow!”
Who is The Coalition?
The Coalition is an Xbox Games Studio located in Vancouver, Canada. Established in 2010, The Coalition is home to the critically-acclaimed and award-winning Gears of War franchise, which has sold over 41 million copies as of August 2019, according to the development team’s website.
It seems, just as with Edgerunners, that Netflix will be working with the gaming studio that worked on Gears of War games. This collaboration is great news for fans of Gears of War and connoisseurs of good entertainment.
Video game adaptations often fail when the creators of the original IPs aren’t involved. It leaves fans with a genuine feeling that the people who created the show or movie they are watching didn’t understand the source material.
Netflix realizes this and has worked with Riot Games on their popular League of Legends adaptation, Arcane, and CD Projekt Red on Edgerunners–both of which garnered critical and fan acclaim. Working with The Coalition on a Gears of War movie? A no-brainer.
Very few details exist on the Gears of War movie and show as of right now–as it is very early in development. However, an empty IMDB page does exist, with a super general synopsis for the film:
“On the planet Sera, a former POW is civilization’s best hope in their fight against the Locust Horde, a race of creatures who emerged from underneath the planet’s surface, intent on eliminating humankind.”
We’ll make sure to keep you updated in our News Section.
