Showtime’s Moving Forward With That HALO TV Series

A live-action adaptation of Bungie's Halo video game series has, in one form or another, been in the works for as long as most of us can remember. A movie almost happened once or twice (with names like Neil Blomkamp and Peter Jackson attached), but nothing much ever came of those discussions.

Then, back in 2013, Microsoft announced Halo as being in development as a live-action TV series. That sounded cool and all, but we've heard precious little about the project in the time since. A lot of us assumed it was dead.

Until today:

"Showtime is officially moving forward with a Halo TV series based on the video game franchise.

The premium cable network announced Thursday that it has picked up 10 episodes of the live-action scripted drama series, with Kyle Killen (Awake) set to serve as exec producer, writer and showrunner. Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) will direct multiple episodes of the series and serve as an exec producer."

That's The Hollywood Reporter confirming that a Halo TV series is, in fact, moving ahead at Showtime. They go on to mention that Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment is still involved, which we've long known, but the news that Rise of The Planet of The Apes' Rupert Wyatt will be directing episodes of the show seems like a new development. That's a very encouraging get!

Will a 10-hour, dramatic Halo series work? As per usual, it'll all depend on the quality of the scripts and the angle they're approaching this mythology from. As we've seen time and time again with video game movie adaptations, what works as a player-controlled entertainment experience does not always translate to a thrilling viewer experience; showrunner Kyle Killen and company are gonna need to make sure this material engages newcomers and satisifies the die-hards, all while proving the mythology as compelling enough to stand on its own without all the, y'know, multiplayer shooting.

Production on Showtime's Halo series begins early next year. We'll be keeping a close eye on it between now and then, so stay tuned for further updates. In the meantime: you folks into this? Not so much? Will I be stripped of my gamer credentials if I admit that I've never really enjoyed any of the Halo games? Sound off in the comments below.