At some point in time, a Halo film was a big possibility, but a series of misunderstandings between all the parties involved ultimately killed the project. The sci-fi, first-person shooter video game Halo began its reign in 2001 and has since become one of the most successful video game franchises, so it’s not surprising that it has expanded to other media – or in some cases, attempted to.
Halo’s commercial success prompted the production of graphic novels and other licensed products, but there’s one realm it hasn’t fully explored yet: film. In 2006, a live-action Halo film was in development, but the project didn’t go beyond the pre-production phase. There were a number of factors that contributed to Master Chief’s debut on the big screen not happening, and they mostly had to do with Microsoft and their refusal to understand that the film industry operates very differently from the video game one.
Halo a reality, but Fox and Universal stepped up with a partnership, which Microsoft accepted after some hesitation.
Microsoft wanted Halo not moving forward due to all this, Fox threatened to pull out of the project, pushing Universal to demand that the producers’ deal be cut, but Jackson and company refused, and so the project was finally over.
Microsoft’s demands and their lack of understanding of the film industry are what killed the Halo film. In the end, Halo did get live-action adaptations, though not as it was initially intended: Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn was first released as a web series and later on Blu-Ray and DVD, Halo: Nightfall can now be enjoyed both on streaming and physical copies, and a Halo TV series is on its way. Even though it was a big loss, it wasn’t the end for Halo beyond the consoles, although it would have been interesting to see Blomkamp’s approach to it on the big screen.
