Rumor: Gears of War movie loses director as story, budget "scaled way back"

Remember how the Doom movie was sort of about Doom, but not really? This is probably going to be kind of like that. But worse.

Or better, depending on your level of loathing for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

According to sources that spoke with the LA Times, Gears of War's big screen debut may not look much like the Gears we've come to know and love at all once the dust clears. Apparently, director Len Wiseman - who's cracked the directorial whip on films like "Live Free or Die Hard" and "Underworld" - has abandoned the film in favor of an apocalyptic flick called "Nocturne."

On top of that, the movie's $100 million budget has apparently been hacked down to a much more modest sum, and the story's become about as recognizable as a Locust that's been chainsawed into itsy-bitsy giblets. No longer a "sprawling epic," the plot's now a "straight-ahead invasion story." Boo.

Here's hoping they haven't decided to scale back the chainsaw guns as well. If we see someone whip out a pistol with a kitchen knife duct-taped on, we might just lose it.