Chris Pratt Isn’t Welcome In Popular Franchise Being Turned Into A Movie
Gears of War designer Cliff Blezinski doesn't want Chris Pratt in the upcoming live-action film from Netflix.
Cliff Bleszinski, the former Epic Games programmer who designed the first Gears of War video game, doesn’t want Chris Pratt anywhere near the upcoming Netflix live-action adaptation film of the game. According to a report by Comic Book Resources, Blezinski recently tweeted his thoughts about the fan casting, although there is no indication Netflix is considering him, nor has the Jurassic World actor indicated his interest in the role. “Oh and keep Chris Pratt away from the Gears franchise, FFS,” he tweeted, although it should be pointed out that his own choices for the film aren’t exactly awe-inspiring.
Just over a week ago, Netflix announced that the popular video game series would get both a live-action film and an animated series, which will premiere on their service. The Coalition, the video game developer for the Gears franchise, is producing the projects alongside Netflix, although a director, writer, and cast have yet to be announced.
Released just over 16 years ago on the Xbox, Gears of War has become one of the biggest video game franchises of all time, selling over 40 million copies of the game and its sequels, and spawning a number of spinoffs. Gears merchandise is still a hot seller, and still, the billion-dollar franchise has yet to get a big-screen adaptation nor an animated series, despite several previous attempts. With or without Chris Pratt, a live-action film would be well-received by the games’ large and vocal fandom.
It’s not clear what Blezinski’s problem is with Chris Pratt, unless he feels the actor would bring a comedic tone to the darker storylines of Gears. While that is a valid concern, Pratt’s performance in the gritty Amazon Prime Video series The Terminal List showed off what he can do with a more serious role than his Marvel and Jurassic World roles.
Rather than Chris Pratt, Blezinski had previously voiced his endorsement of Pratt’s Guardians of the Galaxy co-star Dave Bautista. The former wrestler is a no-brainer, considering his resemblance to the game’s lead character, Marcus Fenix, and Bautista himself has campaigned for the role for years. After the Netflix announcement of the live-action film, Bautista took to Twitter to post a clip from a promotional video he made for the game Gears of War 5, in which he dons Fenix’s COG armor, showing off just how perfect he is for the role.
Bleszinski has also previously voiced his other fan-casting choices, including Ryan Reynolds in the role of Baird, one of the members of Fenix’s Delta Squad who always has a one-liner at the ready. It’s a terrible choice, considering Reynolds tends to overpower every scene he’s in, and the role should go to an unknown actor who doesn’t overshadow the lead or kill the film’s tone.
Chris Pratt will appear next in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ on November 25, followed by The Super Mario Bros. Movie (in which he voices Mario, in case you hadn’t heard) on April 7, 2023, and then Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on May 5, 2023. He will also appear in Netflix’s upcoming big-budget sci-fi film The Electric State, with a release date yet to be determined.
