Wiseman Gears Up For War
Len Wiseman has signed on to direct New Line's Gears of War, based on the hit video game from Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games, Variety reported.
Wiseman featured the game in his recent film Live Free or Die Hard, causing speculation that he would be directing the feature adaptation of Gears of War, but the trade paper reports that he only began talks with New Line a few months ago.
Wiseman will develop the story with Chris Morgan (Wanted), who is writing a new draft of the film based on a previous script by Stuart Beattie. The two are also collaborating on the SF action thriller Shell Game for Lakeshore Entertainment and Columbia Pictures. Wiseman is also producing the third installment of Screen Gems' Underworld franchise after having helmed the first two films.
Gears revolves around a world reeling from an invasion by aliens known as the Locust, and a small team of elite soldiers who fight to retake the planet and save its human inhabitants. The game, first released in 2006, is Microsoft's second-biggest seller after the Halo franchise. It has sold more than 3 million copies since its release. A second Gears game is expected to ship in November.
New Line landed the rights to create a big-screen version of the game last year. It had initially aimed for a summer 2009 release for the film, but further development on the project now will likely delay that plan.
Len Wiseman has signed on to direct New Line's Gears of War, based on the hit video game from Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games, Variety reported.
Wiseman featured the game in his recent film Live Free or Die Hard, causing speculation that he would be directing the feature adaptation of Gears of War, but the trade paper reports that he only began talks with New Line a few months ago.
Wiseman will develop the story with Chris Morgan (Wanted), who is writing a new draft of the film based on a previous script by Stuart Beattie. The two are also collaborating on the SF action thriller Shell Game for Lakeshore Entertainment and Columbia Pictures. Wiseman is also producing the third installment of Screen Gems' Underworld franchise after having helmed the first two films.
Gears revolves around a world reeling from an invasion by aliens known as the Locust, and a small team of elite soldiers who fight to retake the planet and save its human inhabitants. The game, first released in 2006, is Microsoft's second-biggest seller after the Halo franchise. It has sold more than 3 million copies since its release. A second Gears game is expected to ship in November.
New Line landed the rights to create a big-screen version of the game last year. It had initially aimed for a summer 2009 release for the film, but further development on the project now will likely delay that plan.
