I’m sure most of you Halo fans remember a while back when there was a lot of speculation about a Halo movie; there were even some people and a studio attached to the project: FOX/UNIVERSAL, Peter Jackson, Neil Blomkamp, with the script by Garland and rewritten by DB Weiss. I’m also sure that most of you are well aware that this project is now dead, everyone previously attached has picked up and moved on to other projects.
But yesterday latinoreview.com broke the story that while the previous incarnation of a Halo Movie is dead, there is another version floating around that is very much alive, with concept art and all. The script has been written by Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean, Collateral, Derailed, 30 Days of Night, & Australia as well as the upcoming G.I. Joe and Spy Hunter movies) and is based on the Halo novel The Fall of Reach. Now, I love the Halo games as much as the next guy, but I haven’t gone as far to read any of the Halo fiction, but here is a summary of the 2001 novel from amazon.com:
“As the bloody Human-Covenant War rages on Halo, the fate of humankind may rest with one warrior, the lone SPARTAN survivor of another legendary battle . . . the desperate, take-no-prisoners struggle that led humanity to Halo–the fall of the planet Reach. Now, brought to life for the first time, here is the full story of that glorious, doomed conflict.
While the brutal Covenant juggernaut sweeps inexorably through space, intent on wiping out humankind, only one stronghold remains–the planet Reach. Practically on Earth’s doorstep, it is the last military fortress to defy the onslaught. But the personnel here have another, higher priority: to prevent the Covenant from discovering the location of Earth.
Outnumbered and outgunned, the soldiers seem to have little chance against the Covenant, but Reach holds a closely guarded secret. It is the training ground for the very first “super soldiers.” Code-named SPARTANs, these highly advanced warriors, specially bioengineered and technologically augmented, are the best in the universe–quiet, professional, and deadly.
Now, as the ferocious Covenant attack begins, a handful of SPARTANs stand ready to wage ultimate war. They will kill, they will be destroyed, but they will never surrender. And at least one of them–the SPARTAN known as Master Chief–will live to fight another day on a mysterious and ancient, artificial world called Halo. . . .”
Latinoreview.com claims that this is legit and that they have gotten their hands on 5 pieces of concept art by conceptual artist Kasra Farahani (Wolf Man, Hancock, Spider-Man 3) that they will be debuting every Monday for the next 5 weeks (including this last Monday) so be sure to keep checking in over the next four weeks to check out more concept art!
As far as this bot’s feelings towards a Halo movie? Eh. Could be good, could suck, no one really knows. Maybe if this actually gets picked up and has a director and studio attached to it I may have feelings one way or the other, but until then this is all speculation. Check out the concept art below and click the picture for a bigger version!