Back in 2013, Halo developers 343 Industries announced a live-action television series in partnership with Showtime. Steven Spielberg was set to executive produce, and Neill Blomkamp had been (and still is) rumored as a director. We still don’t know very much about what’s coming, but today at Reboot Develop there were a few new details. During a panel, 343’s executive producer Kiki Wolfkill claimed that Showtime’s Halo TV series may not stick too closely to the source material, reports VG247.
Wolfkill doesn’t provide many specifics, but she remains that the team’s top priority is to respect the lore. But, they’ll only stick to specifics as long as it “makes sense”. Wolfkill continues, saying that “there are some details that we may shift, but we want to respect the fans and what they love about the IP. We may shift dates, locations, or ethnicity of characters.”
Of course, no matter what they do, some people will be unhappy with 343’s nine-episode adaptation. But, the team wants to do what they believe is best. They’re the ones in control of the IP, after all. Hell, we should be happy that this series is making any progress at all.
As a first-person shooter, Halo’s lore is more profound than it has any right to be. Not many game franchises are as extensive as this one, with the Chief having spread to novels, comics, some shows, and even anime. But, for some reason, all of the big-budget live-action projects have fallen through.
The biggest letdown was back in 2005, where Alex Garland wrote the script for a Halo film. Peter Jackson was to executive produce, and Blomkamp was meant to direct. However, due to creative differences and pre-production issues, this movie never saw the light of day. We did get Halo: Nightfall from Ridley Scott, however, so at least some sci-fi greats got their hands on the franchise.
Despite all of the previous projects failing, and Showtime’s having been in development hell since 2013, it’s surprising that we’re getting any details on it at all. But, 343 seems ready to deliver us a great project. Who knows? If this does well, maybe we’ll end up getting a live-action movie after all.
