‘Gears Of War’ Movie Rights Go To ‘Battleship’ Guy
Gears of War movie rights have gone to Scott Stuber, the brains behind Battleship (movie, not board game).
The news comes by way of The Wrap following what the website described as a “hard-fought battle” over the film version of the popular video game series.
Universal will get a first look at the project, which is being produced in conjunction with video game publisher Epic. Stuber reportedly beat out Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers) and Neal Moritz (The Fast and the Furious) for the win.
It’s still very early in the development stages with Stuber and his Bluegrass Films banner on the hunt for a writer to adapt the popular seven-year-old video game franchise to the big screen.
Given Epic’s history of fiercely protecting its creative properties — they put the kibosh to a New Line Cinema version in 2007 over creative differences — we’re sure a Gears of War movie will end up close to the video game in plotting, so for now, we’ll use that.
Taking place on the planet Sera, the story follows a former prisoner of war, who leads the human charge against the subterranean Locust Horde, who emerge from the earth to wipe out mankind.
Epic’s choice of Stuber to produce is an interesting one given the fact he’s the responsible party for Battleship. According to Box Office Mojo, the previous film grossed just $65 million domestically on a $209 million production budget. It was saved by a $237 million international take because, apparently, folks outside the US will go see anything.
Kidding. We in the US are the country that conceived this Worst Picture of the Year nominee, so there’s little room to point an accusing finger. Here’s the trailer:
Ultimately, Battleship turned a profit, but at $303 million worldwide, it was a close call. Compare that to Transformers ($2.7 billion worldwide) and The Fast and the Furious (close to $1.6 billion), and it’s a curious decision indeed.
Perhaps Epic foresees less of a fight out of Stuber, and the thinking is they’ll get to make the movie they want instead of one that is Hollywood-ized.
The only question: whose vision will translate better to theaters?
To ensure the film’s success, Stuber will ultimately have to take a page from the Splinter Cell movie’s book and land a big star. But who?
Will you be watching a Gears of War movie, and who would you cast?
