Top Gun and Man on Fire director Tony Scott, who jumped to his death from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles on Sunday, wanted to direct the forthcoming Gears of War movie, according to tweets from former New Line Cinema producer Jeff Katz.
“When we acquired Gears of War at New Line, [Tony Scott] badly wanted to direct. Chased it hard,” Katz said.
“It didn’t work out, but I always loved the idea of seeing him play in that sort of Ridley-adjacent space, which he’d really avoided. I’ll always wish it happened,” he added.
Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski responded to Katz’s tweets, adding that he recalls Scott’s enthusiasm during a meeting about the project.
“I remember the meeting,” he said. “He had a video presentation and everything. He told stories about filming Man on Fire in Mexico.”
The Gears of War movie has been long in development. Lord of the Rings studio New Line Cinema acquired the rights to the film in 2007, with Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman coming aboard in 2008, before dropping from the movie in 2010. The current status of the project is unknown.
