Netflix’s GEARS OF WAR Movie Will Show How Delta Squad Came Together Before the First Game

Netflix’s long-awaited Gears of Warmovie may have just revealed where it plans to begin its story, and it sounds like it’s heading back to the days before the original game ever kicked off.

A newly revealed synopsis for the live-action adaptation offers the first real clue about the movie’s setting, and rather than jumping straight into the events players know from the 2006 Xbox classic, it appears the film will focus on the formation of Delta Squad and the brutal war that shaped them.

According to details shared by Entertainment Weekly, the movie 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.”

So, the film will explore a chapter of the Gears of War universe that hasn’t been covered in depth before. While longtime fans have spent years following Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, Damon Baird, and Augustus Cole as an established team, this movie looks poised to show how that legendary squad came together in the first place.

Xbox executive Matt Booty explained why the concept makes sense as the foundation for a film, saying: "When you go visit [The Coalition] studio, their tagline is 'Never Fight Alone.' So when you think about that for a dramatic narrative, it's a pretty good starting point."

At its core, Gears of War has always been about camaraderie, survival, and soldiers relying on each other in impossible situations. Exploring the origins of Delta Squad gives the movie a chance to build those relationships before audiences see them thrown into the meat grinder of the Locust War.

Of course, this isn't the first time the franchise has ventured into the past. Fans have already experienced earlier chapters of the conflict through games like Gears of War: Judgment, which followed Baird and Kilo Squad years before the original adventure.

Later this year, players will once again revisit the early days of the war in Gears of War: E-Day, which takes place 14 years before the events of the first Gears of War and follows Marcus Fenix as humanity faces the terrifying emergence of the Locust Horde.

The expanded universe has also explored prequel territory through novels and comic books. What makes the Netflix project interesting is that it appears to focus specifically on an earlier version of Delta Squad, before the team became the iconic unit fans know from the games.

The story could serve as a bridge leading directly into the original Gears of War. That would allow audiences to witness the events, battles, and relationships that eventually shaped Delta Squad into the force that took the fight to the Locust.

For fans who have spent nearly two decades chainsawing Grubs and diving into cover, that sounds like a promising way to bring the franchise to the big screen.

Rather than retelling the first game beat-for-beat, Netflix may be carving out its own space in the timeline while still setting the stage for the story that started it all, which is a smart way to go!

Meanwhile, gamers won't have to wait much longer to revisit the early days of the war themselves. Gears of War: E-Day is scheduled to launch on Xbox Series X on October 6, while the Netflix Gears of War movie remains without a release date.