Gears of War 6 was apparently considered to be a possibility for developer The Coalition before the studio decided to rewind the clocks for Gears of War: E-Day, according to the actor who plays JD Fenix in the chainsaw-gun-swinging action series.
Liam J. McIntyre might be preparing to put on Logan's claws in Marvel's Wolverine later this year, but the actor recently took the time to look back on the Gears of War games he starred in over on social media.
"We did gears 4 and 5, and there was a suggestion that maybe there would be a gears 6," McIntyre tweets. "But the team wanted to try something new as I understand it. And honestly, it looks great. Can't wait to play."
For context, Gears 5 left the series' ongoing story hanging on a hugely dramatic cliffhanger almost seven years ago. With The Coalition now going back in time with its upcoming prequel, the question on every fans' mind is... are we ever going to find out who lived and who died? That was supposedly the plan at the studio until it landed on the idea of a throwback romp, that is.
"I hope they [The Coalition] go back to it, but I love those guys and just want them to make a game they feel nails the Gears experience everyone loves," McIntyre adds. "That'd be awesome. And hey, if that leads back to the trilogy, happy days."
Spoilers for Gears 5 ahead.
McIntyre also uses the opportunity to pitch his idea for Gears of War 6 and how he would go about resolving the last game's final decision that saw players choose between saving bestie Del or JD. The actor hopes Del is the one who canonically survives, prompting main man Marcus Fenix to lose his mind and go rogue after the death of his only child. Marcus' mourning doesn't last long in McIntyre's version of the story, however: "You learn JD has kind of been revived and controlled by swarm, his dad has to fight him. But somehow you save him. Not sure how yet. Or if it matters lol."
It might surprise you to learn that Marcus Fenix fighting his zombified son is only the second most bonkers sequel idea pitched by someone who's worked on the series. Former franchise boss Rod Fergusson said his idea for Gears of War 6 would've taken players to space, of all places, though the team "weren't going to start Mass Effect-ing this."
The Coalition did somewhat write itself into a corner with the decision between Del and JD. Would a theoretical sequel ignore half the player base's decisions and pick a canon ending? Could the studio make two varying versions of the same campaign, potentially splitting the timeline from here on out? There's no easy solution, so throwing things back in E-Day seems like a good stopgap while the devs work everything out.
We'll finally see Gears of War: E-Day in action straight after the Xbox Games Showcase in June.
