Gears movie to be like Cloverfield

By Robert Purchese Published 8 December, 2009

That's the plan, says producer.

Gears of War film producer Wyck Godfrey wants to be like JJ Abrams and create a Cloverfield-like story about survival in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophic event. He could even use big dinosaur monsters if he wanted: they're canon.

The "hard part", he told Making Of (via Kotaku), will be side-stepping a "a world torn asunder and people just in battle" because that's not Zeitgeist.

"You've got to figure out," he said. "I think we really want to focus on the idea of a world that's running well and then [clicks fingers] it's Emergence Day. And make it impactful and immediate and [about] those 48 hours as people survive Emergence Day.

"It's more like Cloverfield or something like that, because trying to tell the epic story of an alien planet that's living in a horrific environment just feels like the wrong mood right now."

The Gears of War film will be made by Legendary Pictures and New Line Cinema. Underworld and Die Hard 4.0 director Len Wiseman will be at the helm, steered by Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinksi.

Writer Chris Morgan thinks Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would make a great Marcus Fenix, although no cast have been revealed just yet.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (79) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • HermitArcader #1 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Dizzy #2 2 years ago

    Hmmm... could work, but the survivors are not teenagers, they are supposed to be kick ass Gears.

  • Ian2097 #3 2 years ago

    NO NO NO ROCK!! Dont get me wrong I like The Rock but hes no Marcus. I am getting more worried about this movie day by day.

  • aldo_14 #4 2 years ago

    It also helps that a Cloverfield-style movie would be a lot cheaper to make, no?

    NO NO NO ROCK!! Dont get me wrong I like The Rock but hes no Marcus. I am getting more worried about this movie day by day.

    There's not enough steroids in the world for 'a Marcus'.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 11:24

  • The-Bodybuilder #5 2 years ago

    Now THAT sounds interesting.
    Lord knows we don't another crappy "humans vs aliens on homeplanet, but humans are really the bad dudes as they shouldn't be on homeplanet" movie. We've got Avatar for that. :)

  • The-Bodybuilder #6 2 years ago

    Dwayne Johnson is so clearly Dom.

  • altitude2k #7 2 years ago

    I would hardly call nearly the 20 years of the Pendulum Wars "running well". This guy needs to read up on the lore before they let him within 200 miles of this film.

  • Charlie_Miso #8 2 years ago

    Cloverfield sucked all types of ass. Hey, much like Gears of War. Perfect match.

    Not that I've ever played GoW....

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #9 2 years ago

    It also helps that a Cloverfield-style movie would be a lot cheaper to make, no?

    I think he means the situation of great-big-monster (plus some little ones) terrorise city, not the production style of it all being filmed on camcorders.

  • The-Bodybuilder #10 2 years ago

    The lore? WHO GIVES A CRAP ABOUT THE FREAKIN "LORE" OF GEARS? Its barely got a good story or universe to begin (just another rudimentary action-game story).
    I would be quite happy if they didn't stick to the "lore" of gears, which was just typical american muscleheads shouting hoorah and blowing stuff up.

    But they should have cole train in there though.

  • TruWari3r #11 2 years ago

    As long as it doesn't have the annoying shaky cam 24/7, I mean the picture in Cloverfield is extremely badly shot. Weird angles and totally ignoring that the viewer is used to things like steady shot.

    Bourne is fast pacing following the action, Cloverfield has a retard at the camera.

  • Dr.Mott #12 2 years ago

    "Gears movie to be like Cloverfield"

    What, shit?

  • asphaltcowboy #13 2 years ago

    I think saying "Gears movie to be like Cloverfield" is perhaps extrapolating what he said slightly beyond the realms of reason...

  • ObiChrisKenobi #14 2 years ago

    Didn't you hear - The Roc... I mean Dwayne Johnson is a serious actor now..!

  • davisorle #15 2 years ago

    Really if I see Rock's face for staring in a Gears of War movie they will ruin the whole franchise's image for me.. Nothing against him but he is just not fit for it.

  • chukcyQ #16 2 years ago

    They mean like shit? How about first fix the shaking camera...

  • Eraser #17 2 years ago

    Yeah, they thought The Rock made a great Sarge as well...

  • lordofthedunce #18 2 years ago

    I liked Cloverfield. This sounds like it could be good.

  • telboy007 #19 2 years ago

    I've said it once, I'll say it again... Uwe Boll is ya man for game movies! :D

    Edit: lol... -6, I was joking. Honest.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 14:12

  • wizlon #20 2 years ago

    That idea is really cool, that might actually make a good film.

  • Eldritch #21 2 years ago

    I expected a "Gears of War" adaptation to be more like "Brokeback Mountain".

  • bad09 #22 2 years ago

    TruWari3r he's not talking of the film style , more the plot. Besides, you do realise that Cloverfield is SUPPOSED to be shaky cam. It's that Blair Witch idea, basically a camera is found and that is what's on it What has Bourne got to do with anything?

    Anyway, it does offer something new over the games as emergence day is not looked at in the games I suppose but not sure I like the idea myself we'll have wait and see.

    Oh The Bodybuilder, spot on for The Rock as Dom!
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 12:07

  • booner #23 2 years ago

    This will be great, loved Cloverfield :)

  • Shadders #24 2 years ago

    "Len Wiseman will be at the helm, steered by Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinksi."

    Anyone else get the mental image of Cliffy B sat on this guy's shoulders and pointing him in which direction to go next?

    No? Just me then.. :(

  • Thalanos #25 2 years ago

    "[A] story about survival in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophic event."

    Good thing 2012 got there first and made all the mistakes you can make for this kind of movie. If Gears can learn from them it stands half a chance of succeeding.

  • Nithron #26 2 years ago

    Hopefully it wont have 20 solid minutes of insipid party footage at the beginning.

    On the other hand, seeing the cast of mutant supermen with chests measured in meters standing around clutching tiny beer bottles and attempting to be social would probably be hilarious.

  • bodypopper #27 2 years ago

    Potential shaky cam and space marines? Someone's been admiring those Blomkamp Halo test runs methinks.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 12:47

  • Wolverfrog #28 2 years ago

    Can someone tell me why a Gears movie is in full production, and the infamous Halo movie is still a mere dream?

  • HuggyAtHome #29 2 years ago

    Didn't they make a Gears movie already - and called it Starship Troopers?

  • lordofthedunce #30 2 years ago

    Good thing 2012 got there first and made all the mistakes you can make for this kind of movie.

    I couldn't agree with you more. 2012 is one of the worst films I've ever seen.

  • stevetuck #31 2 years ago

    He could even use big dinosaur monsters if he wanted

    i was sold here tbh

  • aldo_14 #32 2 years ago

    Can someone tell me why a Gears movie is in full production, and the infamous Halo movie is still a mere dream?

    I think it's all about money. Gears is cheaper to buy the rights, and simpler to make for the studio. IIRC MS wanted a lot more up-front money/guaranteed budget and probably editorial control for their crown jewels.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 13:05

  • hidden_asbestos #33 2 years ago

    @Shadders Heh yeah, like some kind of metrosexual Master Blaster

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #34 2 years ago

    Sounds like this is being treated seriously, not just a cash in. Good.

    As for Dwayne Johnson in the movie, I'm okay with that. He's not who I'd cast as Marcus - personally I'd much rather they went with lesser-known B-movie style actors (who can act!). And don't worry about making them big muscle-men, cast ordinary folk. But I think Johnson is actually pretty good, although he's better at comedy type stuff I think; not seen him carry a dramatic role yet.

  • BigJonno #35 2 years ago

    This definitely sounds interesting. Personally, I think The Rock is a great action movie actor, but I don't see him as Marcus. He's got the big, charismatic, overblown thing going on, not the gruff, taciturn style.

  • TruWari3r #36 2 years ago

    @ squarejawhero

    sure I do

    however again, there's things like steady shot that stabilise the image.

    Even when this guy was filming at the party, it was at annoying crooked angles and shaking all over the place.

    Camcorders give a much clearer better picture.


    It apparently wasn't enough to use camcorders, they alos had to emphasize that it were camcorders by shaking all over the place.

    Really, watch it again, the camerawork is simply appalling. Not the theme, the gest of it or whatever.

  • hiddenranbir #37 2 years ago

    Like Cloverfield....so total crap?

  • TruWari3r #38 2 years ago

    @ bad09

    yeah I hope the comparison is just the theme of an event happening and dealing with it


    Bourne has a shaky cam type of camerawork too, where it works. Look I enjoyed Cloverfield and understand the premise of the handheld camera. I just really hated the sloppy execution of it.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 13:10

  • muscleblade #39 2 years ago

    "I enjoyed Cloverfield and understand the premise of the handheld camera"

    Me too.

    "Cloverfield has a retard at the camera."

    Remember holding a camera straith isnt easy when 1. You are drunk ( he was at a party dinking) 2. You are chased by a huge alien monster.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 13:19

  • Riggers #40 2 years ago

    "Anyone else get the mental image of Cliffy B sat on this guy's shoulders and pointing him in which direction to go next? "

    I think of Cliffy more as being perched on Len's head, and directing him by tugging on his hair. You know, like Remy from Ratatouille.

  • aphexstwin #41 2 years ago

    if its going to be someone huge why not mariusz pudjianowski? (sp) or brock lesnar? does it really matter when this movie will only be watched by gears fans? game movies rarely work as we all know, so i say get in the biggest motherfuckers to play these characters

  • muscleblade #42 2 years ago

    Mariuz would be great if he could act just a tiny bit. Lesnar is too fat imo. Not in a good shape at all.
    Cole train is easy though: http://ww w.imdb.com/media/rm1492880128/n...

  • Eraser #43 2 years ago

    "Anyone else get the mental image of Cliffy B sat on this guy's shoulders and pointing him in which direction to go next?

    No? Just me then.. :(    "

    I must admit that at first I didn't, but now that you mention it, I can't get this image out of my head anymore and secretly chuckle at it once in a while...

  • IronGiant #44 2 years ago

    This is gonna be abysmal..

  • photoboy #45 2 years ago

    Yes, well done missing the point Godfrey.

  • telboy007 #46 2 years ago

    "Can someone tell me why a Gears movie is in full production, and the infamous Halo movie is still a mere dream? "

    Wasn't Starship Troopers meant to be film about W40K Imperial Guard but wasn't sanctioned by Games Workshop? I could have been lied to all this time mind you.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #47 2 years ago

    I really liked The Rock in Southland Tales, but by all accounts, I'm the only person in the world (apart from my wife) that liked that movie (Rest in Peace, Wallace Shawn).

    But the major problem with him for a Gears movie is that he's very much identified with a major Hollywood game adaptation flop in Doom. Mind you, Ben Kingsley's in PoP after Bloodrayne...

  • PlugMonkey #48 2 years ago

    "Wasn't Starship Troopers meant to be film about W40K Imperial Guard but wasn't sanctioned by Games Workshop? I could have been lied to all this time mind you."

    Er, I think you've been lied to. It's based on a Robert Heinlein novel that predates the Games Workshop by a number of years.

  • Madafunkola #49 2 years ago

    They should just cast all the Gears as WWE Wrestlers - Batista as Fenix FTW!

  • CosmicFuzz #50 2 years ago

    Vin Diesal as Marcus. Done.

  • VibratingDonkey #51 2 years ago

    All the parts should be played by wrestlers, it'll be great. The Rock plays Marcus, Batista can play Dom, John Cena Baird, Steve Austin Carmine and Lester Speight as Cole Train. And all they're doing throughout the movie is this.

  • Bravestinsane #52 2 years ago

    Not the rock, have new fresh actors....

    If your going to copy Cloverfield actually copy it, use actors i have never heard of before that's what made it so damn good no high paid twat's just new people it would be a lot better.

  • Lukus #53 2 years ago

    Surely the key to an enjoyable Gears film is to keep the tone the game sets out. So, tongue in cheek, over the top, self aware, homoerotic, action packed, grand, silly and ridiculous.

    Fuck doing a Cloverfield. The characters' feelings and emotions were the worst aspect by far.
    Edited by 2 at 08/12/09 @ 15:58

  • Lukus #54 2 years ago

    Oh, and the Rock can fuck off too.

  • Akuma #55 2 years ago

    "Gears movie to be like Cloverfield"

    So they're admitting it's going to be shit?

  • Lunatic4ever #56 2 years ago

    i liked cloverfield. in cinema it was really intense and gripping.
    trasnlating gears of war 1 to 1 is nearly impossible and it wouldnt interest anyone ecpect of US the gamers.
    so i think it has to be changed here and there to make it suitable for the masses.

  • HenryFitz #57 2 years ago

    I liked Southland Tales too, though I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't enjoy experiments in surreal postmodern schlock. The Rock was perfect in it, though he wasn't exactly acting, just looking perplexed for about two hours. I was certainly able to identify with his plight.

    Anyway, Richard Kelly should direct one of these gametofilms; he could turn all the risible dialogue and characterisation into something mysterious and unbalanced. The worst thing you could do in GOW is to openly explain the ridiculous plot. Just let the action unfold inexplicably, like in the TV ad for GOW using Mad World from Donnie Darko. Aliens are attacking; a resistance is fighting back. Giant rabbits abound.

  • Skurmedel #58 2 years ago

    I saw Max Payne this weekend and it put concrete boots on the little hope I had for a movie based on a game ever being good, thus the outcome if this project is not of great interest to me. However, it sounds to me like he wanted to do Cloverfield and that doesn't sound too reassuring.

    And I do think movies based on games could do with following the "lore" a bit more, however thin that lore might be. I really do wonder what the target audience is for these movies. The Max Payne movie sure didn't appeal to me as a Max Payne-fan, even without the Max Payne-badge it would have been pretty dull. It felt like somebody skimmed through a reader's digest of the plot and filmed something, and threw in weird burning CG angels for good measure.

    Some games have a quite lame plot and get away with it because of their other qualities (GoW for example), and a movie can't do that, but at least fill the lame plot/universe with meaningful stuff...
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 17:21

  • man.the.king #59 2 years ago

    Len Wiseman doesn't sound too encouraging. Now, if it was J.J. Abrams...

    As for starcast, Mickey Rourke as Fenix would rock!

  • man.the.king #60 2 years ago

    @lordofthedunce

    "2012 is one of the worst films I've ever seen"

    Oh it's not so bad...as long as you don't try to use your brain while watching the movie. I thought it was fun in a campy sort of way.

  • altitude2k #61 2 years ago

    If you know what to expect from Roland Emmerich films, then 2012 is nothing less than a complete success.

  • smoothpete #62 2 years ago

    Bill Goldberg would be good as Fenix

  • altitude2k #63 2 years ago

    @CosmicFuzz

    With his gruff emotionless voice (a la Riddick) I can certainly see Vin Diesel as Marcus. It's just the look that might not work so well.

  • fshockz #64 2 years ago

    like cloverfield...

    so its going to be SH*T then?

  • HandOfBeadle #65 2 years ago

    Dont get me wrong I like The Rock but hes no Marcus.

    That must be the most damning putdown I've ever read.

  • TRUTH #66 2 years ago

    I hate the shaking camera in Cloverfield - there is only so much you can take before it gets annoying (and so overused now!)

  • TRUTH #67 2 years ago

    Silent Hill the movie was a lot better then the games - worth watching.

  • Windypops #68 2 years ago

    The fact that human beings can even consider the notion that a Gears of War film could be anything other than eye socket-fistingly terrible is at once a testament to humanity's capacity for hope and as big an indication as there's ever been that we are all most assuredly doomed.

  • Ywap #69 2 years ago

    Totally hate shaky cam. I also dislike the latest trend with quick cuts and scenes shot in half the original framerate.

    If a movie is well made you donīt need these "tricks" to hide all the bad scenes.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 19:59

  • Bulbatron #70 2 years ago

    They should just make it an entirely CGI film, then they could make everything look just as it should and use all the proper voice talent.

  • aphexstwin #71 2 years ago

    thats a good point bulbatron, we are only going to accept these characters if they not only look but sound like their game counterparts. which may be a good reason why game to movies dont grab us gamers by the curlies too, because we immediately say, 'thats not fenix' or 'thats not the chief'. a game like doom 1 should have worked as a movie because theres no voice acting, but the terrible script and wooden 'rock' acting let it down.

    so on my theory, would half life make a better film? i mean, it plays like a 12 hour long movie anyway, get cast off tripod effects from war of the worlds for the striders and a mute actor to play freeman...
    Edited by 2 at 08/12/09 @ 22:06

  • Eraser #72 2 years ago

    "Fuck doing a Cloverfield. The characters' feelings and emotions were the worst aspect by far."

    Uh, what? If there's one movie that lacks any character development and genuine emotion then it's Cloverfield.

  • muscleblade #73 2 years ago

    Vin Diesel as Marcus????

    I would be a lot better Marcus than Vin Diesel. Im bigger and more muscular than him, and isnt Vin Diesel black btw? I mean Marcus isnt. Im to good looking to play Marcus though. A few scares might help. LOL.

  • busboy33 #74 2 years ago

    No doubt it is an interesting idea, but if I go to a movie called "Gears of War" I expect to see some goddamn Gears engaged in some goddamn War.
    Cellphone footage of civilians running and screaming down the street as difficult-to-see monster destroys things behind them, frantically looking for somewhere to hide and get safe . . . nothing about that says either "Gears" or "War". "Sympathetic Victims of Apocalypse" maybe.
    Nothing about the "Cloverfield" angle suggests that a chainsaw will be applied to a Locust, and if nobody is going to make some gibblets then what the heck is the point of basing the movie on the franchise? It's like a "Metal Gear" movie without a big-ass war robot. "We're going to take it in a different direction -- focusing more on Meryl's upbringing."
    Uh . . . why? A Metal Gear movie needs Snake, cigarettes, a cardboard box, a pinup in a locker, a big-ass Metal Gear, Ocelot-or-villian-of-your-choice, and at least two women in skintight latex bodysuits showing off how the light reflects off their ass. Otherwise, call it something else.

  • busboy33 #75 2 years ago

    @plugmonkey:

    "Er, I think you've been lied to. It's based on a Robert Heinlein novel that predates the Games Workshop by a number of years."

    If by "based on" you mean "pissed on the novel so badly that if they could harness the energy generated by Heinlein spinning in his grave we'd have a solution for the global energy crisis", then yes.

    ST is one of my top 5 novels of all time along with Stranger in a Strange Land by RH, and the rest of his work pretty much fills out 6-20. If I ever catch the sumbitch that made that abomination of a film I'll beat him to death.

    The sad thing is, it was actually an entertaining movie . . . it just wasn't ST. "90210-plus-alien-anal-probe-jokes" was an insult to the name.

  • busboy33 #76 2 years ago

    @man.the.king:

    "As for starcast, Mickey Rourke as Fenix would rock!"

    Y'know, that's a damn good idea. He's the best mix of the body-type and the gravelly voice, and he can do the "so war-weary the only emotion he ever expresses is an occasional growl" thing pretty damn good.

    I do think Rock would make a pretty good Dom. Sure, his other stuff has been pretty bad, but I blame the movies and not the actor. I think he could pull it off. He's the emotional side of the pair, so he wouldn't have to tone his schick down too much.

    Just tape his eyebrow down so he doesn't do that annoying thing with it, and smear some grime on his teeth so I don't get blinded when he talks . . . it could work.

    I don't think Baird should be big. I always percieved him as smaller (steroid-wise) than the rest of Delta. Maybe it was just subliminal from his seeming less inclined to charge into gunfights than the others. He always struck me as more of a regular dude.

  • HenryFitz #77 2 years ago

    Starship Troopers the film was supposed to be an ironic satire on American war and sports movies. In this it was fairly successful, as you'd be hard-pressed to differentiate it from the real thing. Though it preceded Pearl Harbour, that was precisely the kind of film Verhoeven had in mind when he set out to parody the action movie/teen drama. The only drawback was that a faithful, ironic subversion of Hollywood rubbish is still kind of rubbish. I much preferred Team America's incorporation of hilarious bad-taste and racism.

  • man.the.king #78 2 years ago

    @busboy33

    "Y'know, that's a damn good idea. He's the best mix of the body-type and the gravelly voice, and he can do the "so war-weary the only emotion he ever expresses is an occasional growl" thing pretty damn good."

    Plus, Rourke's a great actor.

    "Just tape his eyebrow down so he doesn't do that annoying thing with it, and smear some grime on his teeth so I don't get blinded when he talks"

    LOL! So true :)) . Johnson has limited range, so can't really say. As for Gears, tbh I don't think it will be pretty deep character-wise, so maybe that's not an issue.

  • Lukus #79 2 years ago

    "Fuck doing a Cloverfield. The characters' feelings and emotions were the worst aspect by far."

    Uh, what? If there's one movie that lacks any character development and genuine emotion then it's Cloverfield.
    So we agree then..