Last we heard of New Line Cinema’s Gears of War movie, the project was reportedly being scaled back and its director, Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard), may have jumped ship to work on a different movie. Now it sounds like the studio’s decided to hit the reset button on the Gears film.
Speaking with Epic Games’ Cliff Bleszinski at Comic-Con last weekend, Cinema Blend discovered the latest round of setbacks for the troubled Gears of War adaptation (via Eurogamer). According to Bleszinski, the movie’s budget ballooned to an estimated $100 million under Wiseman — a number the game designer said New Line couldn’t justify for a rated-R production with zero love story.
Bleszinski likened the original script for Gears to last year’s special-effects blowout 2012, but claimed the studio’s new goal is to make it “more like District 9.” Peter Jackson and director Neill Blomkamp reportedly made their science-fiction flick for around $30 million.