Gears of War movie?

Considering how many videogame properties have been trampled on by studios (and people whose last name is Boll), it’s both rewarding and frightening to see another one of the big names get put into the filmmaking pipeline.

The latest is Epic Games’ multimillion-selling Xbox 360 game GEARS OF WAR (what’s up, Cliffy B?), which has been grabbed by New Line in their ongoing search for new franchise material. Stuart Beattie (COLLATERAL) is writing the script from his own treatment, and Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are producing via their Temple Hill company. New Line only holds the rights at this point — it remains to be seen if the movie makes it to the starting line.

The game is set on the once-affluent world of Sera, where a monstrous race called the Locust have crawled from beneath the ground and taken over the planet. Ex-con soldier Marcus Fenix (that’s you, playa) leads a ragtag group of troopers, using various heavy firearms and chainsaw bayonets to chop the invaders into gunk.

Like quite a few videogames, the premise itself (miscellaneous grunts battle alien horde) isn’t anything particularly novel, but the gameplay is loaded with big cinematic moments and killer creature designs that would no doubt translate to some dazzling movie visuals. I’d personally rather see a GEARS flick than HALO, which had a single-player campaign I found maddeningly generic. But then, I’m biased…