In 2008, the Hollywood film version of third-person shoot Gears of War had a director and a 2010 release. It's 2010, and the movie hasn't even started filming yet. And it might no longer have a director.
Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman was attached to the project, but the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the direct is apparently moving on to Nocturne, an apocalyptic thriller.
According to the LA Times, the studio has cut the budget for Gears of War movie from US$100 million to a "good chunk" less than that. The story has apparently also been tweaked — from a sprawling epic to a straight forward invasion story.
In 2009, Kotaku reviewed Chris Morgan's Gears of War script. Morgan, who wrote Wanted and The Fast and the Furious, said this in May 2009: "I think the gamer side is going to be thrilled with it. All the stuff you want to see, we put that in there and then we blow it out a little more, even. Now it's just a matter of honing in on all of the character arcs and determining production types of things."
This version of the script will not go into production, it seems. Now the film's producers are looking for a new writer to scale down the screenplay, but have not found one yet. Wiseman is still attached to the project, but the LA Times doesn't think he will stay attached to the film. And if he is out, fat chance on his wife, actress Kate Beckinsale, appearing in the film, says the the Times.
Even with a scaled-down budget, the right director and the right writer could bring the Gears universe to the silver screen. Now, whether they could do it well...
Is 'Gears of War' grinding to a halt? [Los Angeles Times via /Film]