Surprising no one, Gears of War fans want Dave Bautista in the Netflix adaptation

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.

Article continues below

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.

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.