Years Later, Halo’s Television Adaptation Is Ready to Start Production
Over 77 million copies later, after raking in $5 billion in revenue, the long-awaited Halo TV series has finally been greenlit by Showtime. The Microsoft-owned video game franchise will begin production in early 2019.
After five years of development stagnation, according to Entertainment Weekly, Halo ( the series’ working title) has found its showrunner and director. Plus, it received the greenlight for ten episodes that will depict “an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant … Halo will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future,” sources say. Judging by the synopsis alone, the televised version will stay faithful to the story of the original 2001 video game. Kyle Killen (Awake) will shoulder the responsibilities of executive producer, writer, and showrunner. Meanwhile, Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) will direct multiple episodes and executive produce.
“Halo is our most ambitious series ever, and we expect audiences who have been anticipating it for years to be thoroughly rewarded,” said David Nevins, President and CEO of Showtime. “In the history of television, there simply has never been enough great science fiction. Kyle Killen’s scripts are thrilling, expansive and provocative, Rupert Wyatt is a wonderful, world-building director, and their vision of Halo will enthrall fans of the game while also drawing the uninitiated into a world of complex characters that populate this unique universe.”
Recently, Netflix announced its intent to ramp up production on Sci-fi and Fantasy shows. At this point in time, there’s an apparent arms race to produce the most binge-worthy science-fiction series of any service. While we’ve seen a variety of gems and curiosities like Netflix’s Lost in Space reboot, HBO’s Westworld, and many more, we have yet to see the Game of Thrones of sci-fi. Now that Showtime have established their direction for Halo, a big budget and the right talent could see them fill that void and blow up their presence in the entertainment space. Time will tell.
SOURCE: EW