Netflix hires Dune and Prometheus writer for its Gears of War movie

Academy award-nominated screenwriter Jon Spaihts has signed up to pen Netflix’s Gears of War live-action movie.

Most recently, Spaihts was Oscar-nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Dune, which he co-wrote with director Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth.

He’s also co-wrote the upcoming sequel, and his previous credits include Prometheus, Doctor Strange, Passengers and The Mummy.

“Gears of War is one of the all-time great action games, with vivid characters, a beautifully designed world and a combat system that drives home the lethality of war and the importance of standing by your squadmates,” Spaihts told Netflix. “It wants to be cinema, and I’m thrilled to have the chance to help that happen.”

Netflix announced last November that it had partnered with game developer The Coalition to release a number of Gears of War projects including the live-action film.

It said the movie would be followed by a Gears of War adult animated series and possibly further projects.

The news was announced to coincide with the 16th anniversary of the Gears of War franchise’s launch.

Today’s announcement suggests Gears of War looks set to cover at least the events of the first game, which sees disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix leading humanity’s last stand against a monstrous subterranean race called the Locust Horde.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Jon and the Netflix team to bring Gears of War to life,” The Coalition said. “Jon is a master storyteller with a talent for creating epic science-fiction universes and he truly loves Gears of War. We couldn’t ask for a better partner to honor our franchise and deliver an authentic story to our fans.”

Further reading

1

Netflix says it has 40 more game releases lined up for 2023

Including Ubisoft's Mighty Quest: Rogue Palace and a new Too Hot To Handle game

Last month, it was claimed that The Coalition has shifted its full attention to Gears 6 after two other games in development at the studio were cancelled.

And more recently, a job advert for a senior gameplay designer on the Gears of War franchise seemingly confirmed the studio is working on a new series entry.