The production for the Gears of War movie has had a wrench thrown in the works. A report in the LA Times is saying that director Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld) attached to the movie will pass on it to focus on Nocturne, which is descrbed as an apocalyptic thriller.
Additionally, the budget is being pared down from the originally projected $100 million to something far less than that. A new screenwriter is also going to be brought on board to simplify the Chris Morgan/Billy Ray treatment into a more simple action flick.
This move might be a greater reflection of the poor fortunes of game movies at the box office. While certain games (Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider) have achieved a decent amount of success both critically and commercially, other films (Bloodrayne, Hitman, Max Payne) have been poorly received and not met initial expectations.
