Movies
Steven Soderberg Prepares for Outbreak With Quartet
The Playlist is reporting that Steven Soderbergh (Ocena’s Eleven, The Informant!) has delayed all projects in order to fast-track Contagion. The plague thriller penned by Scott Z. Burns (The Informant!) is set to go behind cameras this fall with Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard all signed on to star. Details are slim but the film is said to be an “action-thriller about the outbreak of a deadly virus.” Variety adds that the project “ is described as centering on a deadly disease with multiple plotlines in the same style as Soderbergh’s Traffic.”
Pictured: Marion Cotillard
The first plot details have finally arrived for Netflix’s upcoming feature adaptation of Gears of War, and it sounds like it’s venturing into prequel territory.
Matt Booty, Xbox’s executive vice president and chief content officer, provided EW with more insight into the feature adaptation while speaking on the state of Xbox at its 25th anniversary, revealing that it’s set before the video games.
Netflix’s Gears of War will tell “the origin story of Delta Squad, a ragtag crew of soldiers who wage a desperate war for survival against the Locust, a race of subterranean creatures set on destroying humanity,” according to the official description.
“The game really is about the bonds between teams. It’s about brotherhood at its core,” Booty told EW. “When you go visit the studio, their tagline is ‘Never Fight Alone.’ So when you think about that for a dramatic narrative, it’s a pretty good starting point.”
Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Doctor Strange, Dune) pens the new adaptation, with David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train) set to direct.
The 2006 game is set “on a planet on the brink of societal collapse when a monstrous threat in the form of underground creatures known as the Locust take humanity to the verge of extinction. Delta Squad, a ragtag fireteam led by disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix, is now charged with leading humanity’s last stand.”
The game’s popularity launched a franchise that includes several spin-off and sequel games, comic books, and novels. Gears of War: E-Day, the sixth game in the main series, will arrive as an Xbox console exclusive on October 6.
Netflix acquired Gears rights back in November 2022 with grand plans for the IP; the streamer hopes to also launch an animated series.