After spending a number of years stuck in development hell at New Line Cinema, the feature film rights to the hit Xbox video game series Gears of War moved to Universal Pictures back in 2016, and now it seems the studio is ready to move forward with its plans.
According to The Wrap, Universal has enlisted screenwriter F. Scott Frazier to pen the script for the big screen adaptation of the third-person shooter, which takes place on the planet of Sera and follows Marcus Phoenix, a convict who is reinstated into the Coalition of Ordered Government’s military to lead a last-gasp strike against the Locust Horde, a subterranean species which has invaded the surface.
Frazier’s previous credits include the 2016 action film Collide starring Nicholas Hoult and Felicity Jones, along with last year’s Vin Diesel-headlined action sequel xXx: Return of Xander Cage.
Launching in 2007, the original Gears of War was followed by three sequels and a prequel, with the next chapter Gears of War 5 slated for release in 2019. It has attracted over 45 million players worldwide and generated in excess of $1 billion in sales.
