Halo ought to’ve by no means ended up as a mid-at-best TV show on Paramount Plus. As a substitute of “Master Cheeks,” we must always’ve gotten a big-budget big-screen characteristic movie with Xbox’s halo-nuking helmeted hero. And that was the plan. Guys dressed up as Master Chief even delivered 28 Days Later scribe Alex Garland’s script to varied film studios as Microsoft tried to promote the movie to the best bidder. However things went how they went.
Now, nonetheless, Microsoft has simply introduced Xbox XP, a brand new division aimed toward getting cool experiences – be they motion pictures, TV exhibits, theme park points of interest, and so forth. – made out of its many mental properties. And that is how Microsoft can erase the reminiscence of the TV present you most likely already forgot anyway. No, I am not suggesting that they essentially mud off Garland’s 20-year-old script (except it is superior, then by all means, do it!), however by turning Halo into the film we deserve however by no means bought.
Certain, TV exhibits are nice as a result of they’re typically cheaper than movies and could be stretched out over a number of years, probably sustaining added curiosity within the model longer than a single-pop film would. However in need of making one thing legendary on the extent of Breaking Unhealthy or The Sopranos, the ceiling is loads decrease on a TV present than on a film, which might make a billion {dollars} if executed accurately. It isn’t that Halo cannot work as a TV present (regardless of Paramount Plus’s proof on the contrary), it is simply that Halo is a sport with the suitable mixture of lore, motion, and established cultural cachet that it might be finest served as a big-budget film. And discovering the suitable folks to make precisely that needs to be Xbox XP’s first order of enterprise.
Canon would not actually matter for a film, as a result of a serious movement image ought to most likely simply inform the story of the legendary first sport. Not solely as a result of it is an ideal story, however as a result of it is already tailored for a three-act film. We begin the place the sport does, waking up Grasp Chief from cryosleep aboard the Pillar of Autumn because the Covenant assault. Chief steps out, kicks a bunch of ass, after which there’s time to fill in some backstory and do a little bit of character intros for Chief, Cortana, and the Spartan program with Dr. Halsey. Then we head right down to the Halo ring, combine some Covenant backstory in with extra motion, after which the non-gamer viewers will get shocked with the introduction of The Flood (it would be vital to not give away that twist within the trailers), earlier than issues escalate within the third act as Chief and Cortana destroy the entire rattling factor.
Look, I am clearly no scriptwriter, however my level is that the primary precedence of Xbox XP needs to be getting Halo on the large display screen. The franchise is in a state of metamorphosis as it’s, with Activision now taking on responsibility for development of the next mainline game. With a crew being spun up and doubtless plugged into the environment friendly Name of Obligation pipeline fairly quickly, my cash is on Activision delivery its first large Halo sport in 4 years. It could possibly be three and it most likely will not be 5, realizing that Sharma needs Halo again within the market, so my cash’s on 4 (with three-year growth cycles after that, however we can talk about that another time). My level is: that is loads of time to get a Halo film collectively, and even perhaps launch them collectively for the Final Company Synergy™ that new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma would little doubt like to see.
And happily, discovering proficient folks to place a Halo film collectively should not be an issue. In any case, this can be a franchise that, along with the aforementioned and completed Garland, has additionally had names like Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson connected to it at numerous factors through the years. Halo as a complete is in determined want of a turnaround, whether or not it is rebounding from the deserted two-season Paramount Plus present or bouncing again from an up-and-down couple of a long time underneath the stewardship of 343 Industries/Halo Studios. We’ll see what Activision can do on the video games aspect of issues, but it surely’s as much as Xbox XP to indicate the world how critical they’re about this new division by turning Halo into the blockbuster film it was at all times meant to be.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s govt editor of previews and host of IGN’s weekly Xbox present, Podcast Unlocked, and a co-host of Next-Gen Console Watch. He is a North Jersey man, so it is “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.