Gears of War fans predictably want Dave Bautista to play Marcus Fenix in the forthcoming Netflix movie adaptation.
On November 7, to celebrate the sixteenth anniversary of the Gears of War franchise, Netflix announced two major ongoing projects. The first was a Gears of War movie adaptation, while the latter was an "adult" animated series also set in the Gears of War world.
Taking to the Gears of War subreddit the day after the two announcements, it's clear fans want Dave Bautista, best known for playing Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, to play protagonist Marcus Fenix in the movie. While some are voicing their support for Bautista to step into the role, others think it's a foregone conclusion already.
This is probably due to the fact Bautista actually has history with the shooter series (besides resembling Fenix with his imposing physicality). The actor lent his likeness to developer The Coalition for Gears 5, the latest entry in the ongoing franchise, so players could unlock a character based on him for the sequel's multiplayer modes and play as him.
In fact, last year in 2021, Bautista revealed in an interview with Collider that he turned down a role in the mega-hit Fast and Furious franchise to pitch a Gears of War movie. The actor stated he had a meeting at Warner Bros., but rather than talk about playing Batman villain Bane, the actor instead pivoted to discussing a Gears of War adaptation, which the studio apparently didn't like too much.
The Gears of War projects rumble on alongside several other Netflix video game adaptations. The company currently has a Horizon Zero Dawn adaptation in development, in addition to an Assassin's Creed series and a BioShock movie. There's also a God of War TV show in development, but that's in the works for streaming service rival Amazon Prime, as is a series based on Fallout.
For more, check out our full upcoming video game movies guide for a tracker of every other adaptation in development.
