New Line Cinema‘s big-screen adaptation of the popular video game Gears of War has ground to a halt. According to reports, the size and scope of the story along with the budget have been scaled down by the studio, and director Len Wiseman (Underworld) has officially left the project.

The LA Times says,

The studio has now cut the budget, going from a film that would have cost more than $100 million to one that will cost a good chunk less than that. It’s also reined in the story, turning it into a more simple, straight-ahead invasion story instead of a sprawling epic. Producers are looking for a new writer to handle all this, but haven’t found one yet. And Wiseman, while technically still attached, will likely not be a part of it when all is said and done.

Back in 2007, writer Stuart Beattie (G.I. Joe) wrote a spec treatment for Gears of War that garnered a lot of attention and Wiseman worked with Chris Morgan (Wanted) and Billy Ray (Breach) to refine it. Producers are now looking for another writer for a new, scaled back version.

Len Wiseman and producer Wyck Godfrey have been backing Gears of War as a grand epic from the beginning.

The director said in January 2009,

“The hope is that were wanting to do a three movies and really cover the bases on everything. Basically a harder edged Lord Of The Rings.”

[Source] LA Times