Fight Club director David Fincher nearly shot Gears of War's iconic Mad World trailer before Top Gun: Maverick's lead took over

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Joe Kosinski only landed the gig on a recommendation from Fincher

Gears
(Image credit: The Coalition)

Top Gun: Maverick's director has revealed David Fincher was originally set to direct the Gears of War trailer that would become known as the "Mad World trailer."

Speaking recently to the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA), Top Gun: Maverick director Joe Kosinski was asked about his time working on Gears of War's launch trailer. Kosinski reveals that David Fincher was originally set to direct the trailer, but had to pull out because of a scheduling conflict, which is when he personally tapped Kosinski to take over the advert for him.

This was actually Kosinski's first commercial shoot as a director, the Top Gun: Maverick head reveals during the interview. Kosinski can't quite remember what movie Fincher had to shoot instead (he thinks it might have been Zodiac), but it's thanks to the iconic director that he ultimately landed the gig to create the launch trailer for Gears of War.

You can see that full trailer just below. The trailer was famed for featuring a cover of Mad World, the 1983 track by Tears for Fears, while Gears of War protagonist Marcus Fenix mournfully reflects on what humanity has lost in its ongoing struggle against the Locust horde. 

Kosinski didn't stop there at director game trailer, later working on the "Starry Night" trailer for Halo 3, which you can see just below. The director would go on to make his feature film directorial debut with 2010's Tron Legacy, before heading up Oblivion with Tom Cruise in 2013, eventually signing up to direct Top Gun Maverick four years later in 2017.

It really is a mad world. In fact, Kosinski might not be done with video games just yet, as a 2015 report by Variety claimed he was eyeing an adaptation of the Gran Turismo series. Given that it's been seven years since that report however, perhaps Kosinski has found other priorities since then. Maybe we'll see the Mad World director return to direct another game trailer one day.

Head over to our full Top Gun: Maverick review to see why we gave Kosinski's latest effort a glowing 5/5 writeup. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.