Chris Morgan just finished the Gears screenplay and knows who'd be a perfect Marcus Fenix. "A really f'ing good actor" who can blend silent toughness with humanity. AKA Dwayne 'The Rock" Johnson!
Talking (again) to the MTV Movies Blog, Morgan calls The Rock "a genuine actor. Not only can he play the tough guy, but he can also play the nuanced, sensitive funny sad moments as well. But finding that guy is incredibly difficult."
Well, that plainly describes the job description Johnson faced in "Walking Tall," so of course he'd be perfect as a post-apocalyptic Buford Pusser.
Sensitive? Funny? Sad? I know Gears of War 2, the game, won praise for writing and developing characters that a player might actually care about. But who are we kidding here. This is a movie adaptation of a game, and the financiers of such projects couldn't give a shit for a plot or dialogue. They're greenlit because they put asses in theater seats for a single, easily marketable reason: shooting shit and/or kicking ass, not interpersonal communication.
This isn't the first mention of the Rock as Gears material. Back in October, Ripten hallucinated a movie poster that had him cast as Dominic (with fellow rassler Dave Batista as Fenix.)
Screenwriter Chris Morgan Weighs In On Who Should Play Marcus Fenix In ‘Gears Of War' Movie [MTV Movies Blog via Digital Battle]