'Halo' TV Show 'Still Very Active In Development' According To Network
Showtime's long in-development "Halo" TV show is still a go according to the network's executives. First announced following the release of Halo 4, the series was set be made in collaboration with Steven Spielberg but has since been stuck in limbo.
In a recent interview with TV Guide, Showtime CEO David Nevins promised that the live-action, gaming inspired show is "still in very active development." While he didn't reveal much in terms of details, he did say that he has seen the scripts.
Showtime's President of programming Gary Levine also told TV Guide that the network was encouraged by what they've seen so far. He is also confident that it will please not only "Halo" fans but also Showtime's overall drama audience.
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While Nevins and Levine's words do give fans some encouragement, there's no doubt that they have a monumental task ahead of them. Aside from the bad reputation video game adaptations have had over the years, the "Halo" series has been a notoriously hard story to recreate in film or TV, no matter the caliber of talent behind it.
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson's take on the series, "Halo Chronicles," was cancelled in 2009 while the Ridley Scott-produced "Halo: Nightfall" was met with the same disdain. To this day, only "Halo: Forward Unto Dawn" remains the most successful adaptation of the franchise and will likely serve as a template on how to do future adaptations of the game.
The hype for the series is also a consideration as the series' potential audience continues to dwindle with each passing year. Microsoft proudly announced the series alongside the release of the Xbox One in 2013. Since then, no TV show has materialized and the only updates fans received were promises that the show is still on the table.
Given how big of a money-maker the series is for Microsoft, the pressure on Showtime's adaptation to do the series justice is definitely monumental. Hopefully, though, they use every play in the book to create the much-awaited Halo TV series that has been five years in the making.
