A Halo television show could be in the cards for the sci-fi first-person series.
In an interview with Variety, which was centered around the oft-delayed and long-awaited Halo movie (which doesn’t look to be coming anytime soon), there is a very interesting line about a possible TV series.
To quote Variety:
“Microsoft is also ‘intently watching’ the TV landscape as a potential outlet for a Halo series.”
Hey, it worked for Stargate SG-1. While a TV series seems like the least plausible thing, there really is a lack of a great sci-if TV series in the vein of Halo, and if done right it could be really good.
“Microsoft is also ‘intently watching’ the TV landscape as a potential outlet for a Halo series.”
And lets not forget the popularity of Red vs Blue, the Machinima series based on the Halo series, which even some of my non-gaming friends seem to love. So I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to imagine a Halo TV series. Which may be a ton easier to produce than a full-length film, as the live-action Halo Reach commercials and shorts prove.
It’s much easier to do than a feature film, a saga of which has has been tumultuous for Microsoft to say the least, with Peter Jackson originally set to direct the Halo movie before studio rejection at the movies price tag caused both Jackson and director Neill Blomkamp to leave the project and make the successful District 9 film instead. After all that drama and the project with Jackson and Blomkamp fell through, the Halo movie has remained in legit development hell ever since.
Of course, who knows what direction Microsoft would actually take a Halo TV series in. While it could be live-action, they could also do a CG or animated (think Halo Legend) series. Or, dare I say, a Machinima TV series. That of course, would probably be much easier and less expensive than a live-action TV series project.
Although live action certainly looks kick-ass, as you can see in this awesome Halo Reach commercial.
As far as the actual Halo film is concerned, the Variety article gives us an update, with Microsoft essentially saying that a Halo movie is still a high priority and something they desperately want to do. But something they won’t do until they are sure it will be done right and prove successful.
“We’re still interested in making an excellent Halo movie,” says Frank O’Connor of 343 Industries and former Bungie Content Manager. “We’ve created an awful lot of documentation and materials to support a feature film. We have a good idea of what kind of story we want to tell, but won’t move on it until there’s a great reason to do it. We’re in no particular hurry.”
Some other interesting Halo tidbits from the article include the fact that the series has generated over $2 BILLION in revenue and become one of the few game properties to reach Star Wars levels of success and pop-culture relevance. And the fact that the series has sold around 34 million videogame units across the entire franchise. Microsoft also paid between $20-$40 million when they purchased Halo developer Bungie in 2000 (Bungie has since gone independent and their next title will be multiplatform). — Want to know what challenge to expect from the Halo: Reach? Check out our Halo Reach achievements guide.
Also, be sure to check out this awesome video on the Sounds of Halo Reach.
“HALO: REACH” Game Audio Profile from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.
Via Variety