Steven Spielberg really is the gift that just keeps on giving. The man has been delivering us some of the best movies of every decade since the 1970s and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. With TV now a bigger thing than it once was, he is trying to dip his toes into that medium in a big way. Several years ago he attached himself to a live-action TV version ofHalo, the beloved Microsoft video game series. Now, Microsoft has provided confirmation that this project is alive and well andSteven Spielbergis still going to direct the series.
The live-actionHalo TV series, in this form at least, came about in 2013 initially and talks with Showtime, Steven Spielberg and Microsoft began in 2014. There haven’t really been any updates on the project since, leading some to believe that it may be dead in the water. No so fast. Microsoft recently provided an update toAR12Gamingthat promises theHaloTV series is still in the works with the same creative team attached. Here’s what they had to say about it.
“Progress on the Halo Television Series continues. We want to ensure we’re doing this the right way together with a team of creative partners (Steven Spielberg and Showtime) that can help us build the best Halo series that fans expect and deserve. We have no further details to share at this time.”
So that’s awesome news. Steven Spielberg seems like the right kind of person who can bringHalointo live-action, but that may be easier said than done. For one, Spielberg is seriously a busy guy. Age be damned. He is attached to nearly countless projects and is currently directingThe Papersand is supposed to doIndiana Jones 5shortly after. Maybe he will find a gap in his schedule to at least direct the first episode of theHalo seriessomewhat soon? But this update doesn’t really give us much to go on in terms of a timeline.
This also is far from the first time a live-actionHaloproject has been attempted. There have been projects likeHalo: Nightfallthat were live-action, but they certainly weren’t the big-budget spectacle thatHalocan be. TV may be the right way to go. Originally, Neill Blomkamp’sDistrict 9was supposed to be aHalomovie, but development eventually stalled out and that led to him doing his own original sci-fi movie. Point is,Halohas had trouble really getting going as a high-profile project.
Steven Spielberg’sReady Player Oneis set to debut next year, which has quite a few references to video games in it. So maybe he can use that as a springboard to inspire him to finally makeHalohappen? Let’s be honest, if he wants to make something happen, he’s the kind of guy that can will it into existence. Microsoft wants us to know it is still happening, but for now, they aren’t willing to give us much else.
