“No, screw you guys”: 1 R-rated Condition Stopped Gears of War Movie With Dave Bautista from Ever Happening

SUMMARY

• Dave Bautista was initially attached to the live-action Gears of War movie but didn't like the approach.
• Cliff Bleszinski spoke about the original plans for the live-action adaptation before it fell apart.
• Gears of War fans would not have been satisfied if the violence would be toned down.

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Gears of War is another popular video game franchise that will receive a live-action adaptation treatment; unfortunately, the project is stuck in development hell. Cliff Bleszinski is no longer attached or involved with the current entries; however, he served as one of the former designers in the franchise’s earlier days and recalls the struggles the studio had to endure to make this movie work without suffering from the infamous curse of horrible video game-to-film adaptations.

Bleszinski wasn’t the only one who believed a PG-13 rating for the film would work. Image Credit: The Coalition

Successful video game adaptations like The Last of Us and Fallout worked because the executives were fans of the source material. Having a fan at the helm would have made the process more smoother and authentic.

One Actor Would Not Have Allowed a PG-13 Adaptation of Gears of War to Exist

Dave Bautista is a huge fan of the game and advocated to star in the film. Unfortunately, studio interventions wouldn’t allow the game’s identity to shine on the big screen. Bleszinski pointed out that studio executives wanted to tone down the violence and gore which would have ultimately led to its downfall and bomb at the box office.

People wanted to see the chainsaw, they wanted to see Locusts getting cut in half, and that would make it rated R

Bleszinski remembered the problems he and his colleagues encountered in the early days and realized it would have only damaged the brand.

No, screw you guys.

The curse has been lifted after a flurry of successful video game adaptations have escaped the gates of development hell and saw the light of day. Uncharted was one of the first films decently adapted; however, it took Naughty Dog and Columbia Pictures a decade to make it work while HBO nailed the drama and tone of the live-action The Last of Us series.

The recent shows and movies should be used to inspire the current creators of the upcoming Gears of War film and learn from their mistakes. Amazon Prime Video struck gold with the Fallout series because the showrunner, Jonah Nolan, was a fan first before he signed on to take the helm and understood the franchise down to the core.

Perhaps Dave Bautista and Cliff Bleszinski Could Make a Gears of War Movie Work Together

Dave Bautista wanted to see this franchise get the treatment it deserves. Image Credit: The Coalition

Bautista is renowned for Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, primarily in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. The actor has shown a tremendous amount of growth in his craft and is passionate about his role and projects, that is what this adaptation needed for it to be a success.

The franchise is known for its sad and emotional moments, such as Maria Santiago’s untimely demise in Gears of War 2. If Bautista had been cast as Dom, he would have delivered a great performance and made audience members feel the gaming community’s agonizing pain when that moment happened in-game.

Bleszinski is no longer involved with the current games and revealed he was not contacted by anyone at Netflix for the film. Although, the developer revealed he is more than willing to return to the franchise. Perhaps together with Bautista, the film will be made in earnest and honor the original fans while appealing to a newer audience.

Video game adaptations can be a hit or miss nowadays. Hopefully, the filmmakers of the upcoming adaptation will come to their senses and recruit the necessary people and talent.

Are you excited for the Gears of War movie? Let us know in the comments section below!

Written by Rouvin Josef Quirimit

Articles Published: 947

Piqued by his interest in superheroes during the early days of Marvel movies, Rouvin fell in a rabbit hole of pop culture. His passion for movies led to video games and he fell in love with God of War, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Red Dead Redemption, and more great single-player games that paved the way for his career as a gaming writer.