This is not exactly breaking news, but due to some reader feedback, we thought we’d touch on the Gears of War movie project and give some information on the latest updates.

At the red carpet premiere of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, the good people over at Bloody Disgusting got a chance discuss the Gears of War project with Underworld creator and producer Len Wiseman. Wiseman revealed that in addition to writing the screenplay with fellow writer Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast & Furious), he will also be occupying the director's seat.

The Gears of War titles hold a special place in my heart and this all sounds promising... A live-action adaptation of one of the greatest video games ever made to date could be awesome - especially one that's unique in style and story as this is. However, things get a little worrisome when he starts talking more about the project:

“I suck at video games, it just takes me too long and I can’t get the coordination of ‘em. When I was on [Live Free Or] Die Hard, I had to choose some video game for the background in a scene with Kevin Smith. I was shown about a dozen games and told to ‘Choose one to be in the background’ and I said ‘this one looks really, really cool whatever it is,’ and it was Gears Of War. I just really connected with it; the design of it the world, the whole thing. So I actually bought an Xbox 360 to start researching what it was.”

So it seems he doesn’t know much about video games in general… Let's hope he actually played through the entirety of the game and its sequel because I'm not nearly convinced he's the right man for the job at this point.

Wiseman goes on to describe his plans for the film and its potential structure as a trilogy:

“It’s going to be much more [on the] science fiction side of it than the creature side of it. I’ve always been much more of a sci-fi action fan than a horror fan… The hope is that we’re wanting to do a three movies and really cover the bases on everything. Basically a harder edged Lord of the Rings.”

What does he mean "more on the sci-fi side of it?" By harder edged, does he mean rated R? I have an idea: Why not make the movie just like the game! Y’know, since it’s already structured and shot in a cinematic style. It’s literally already done for you, you just have to pick three two-hour segments that cover the story best and re-enact with live actors (and film it in the same way as the in-game cut scenes and action sequences).

An Action Sequence from Gears of War

These movies have the potential to be incredibly amazing if they follow the games properly, have a proper cast and keep them rated R. On the flip side of the coin, it could be a massively frustrating disappointment - the way most video game-based movies tend to be.

I really don’t want them to turn this into something it’s not and have them adding more characters, more love interests and unnecessary dialogue. Please Mr. Wiseman, just make the movies like the games.

The problem with all of these video game movies is that they never seem to actually follow what made the game so successful… and it’s such a simple concept. And while not making these movies properly, they tend to make them even worse with poor writing and casting choices.

So far, there has been little information other than that, so it’s hard to make predictions based solely on what Wiseman has said so far. As far as a release date, the highly unconfirmed information we have is it is supposed to reach theaters some time in 2010. You should take that information with a big grain of salt since the project is still in the screenwriting stage.

We’ll keep you updated as more information comes out in the future.

What do you think of the Gears of War movie plan that Len Wiseman is proposing?

Source: Bloody Disgusting