A Gears of War movie is currently in development, and Universal Pictures has finally signed a writer. Deadline reports that Shane Salerno, the screenwriter handling all four of the upcoming Avatar sequels, is now writing the Gears screenplay.

Universal and Microsoft announced that a Gears movie was in the works last fall. Rod Fergusson, head of the developer studio and Microsoft subsidiary The Coalition, said at the time that the film was the “next logical step” for the billion-dollar franchise.

"Writing an original story in the ‘Gears’ universe"

It’s now Salerno’s job to see that next step through. The new film won’t be based on any of the entries in the Gears video game saga, but instead will reportedly be an original story set in the same universe. It’ll be interesting to see what Salerno brings to the table. In addition to writing the upcoming Avatar follow-ups, he worked on the screenplays for Armageddon and Oliver Stone’s Savages, and even co-wrote the story for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. There’s no word yet on a release date, but an announcement will almost certainly be made in the months ahead.



[The Verge]