Halo movie indefinitely postponed

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Oct 31, 2006 9:06 am PT

Following collapse of studio backing and a proposed third rewrite, work on big-screen adaptation of sci-fi shooter phenomenon is stopped.

At the end of September, the Halo movie seemed to be right on track. Its executive producer, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, had been a featured speaker at Microsoft's X06 event in Barcelona, Spain. There, he talked up the multimillion-dollar sci-fi epic, which was being directed by novice Neill Blomkamp from a script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later) and D.B. Weiss.

What a difference a month makes. Earlier this month, Universal and Fox--the two Hollywood studios cofinancing the project along with Microsoft--backed out of the project after failing to renegotiate the profit-sharing scheme for the film. It had been slated for a summer 2008 release.

Despite the setback, Microsoft put on a brave face. "Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and the rest of the creative team are dedicated to ensuring the Halo movie becomes a reality," the company said in a statement on October 20. "We are already in discussions with potential partners who recognize the value of the Halo brand and its appeal to consumers worldwide."

Apparently the aforementioned discussions didn't go so well. This week, WingNut Films, Jackson's production company, announced that the release of Halo has been pushed back indefinitely. "At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans...of bringing a first class film to the big screen," read a statement sent out to numerous media outlets by WingNut.

Jackson and Walsh confirmed that Blomkamp would remain on board, praising him as a "tremendously gifted filmmaker" and calling his work on the project "truly awe-inspiring." However, the WingNut statement gave no date for the Master Chief's big-screen debut. "While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait," read the statement.

While Blomkamp is sticking with Halo, neither Garland nor Weiss are currently involved with the project. According to the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, the film's script was being rewritten for a third time by Josh Olson, who received a 2006 Academy Award nomination for penning A History of Violence.

642 Comments

  • crazyleftykid

    Posted Jun 17, 2008 1:26 pm PT

    lol. very old news indeed. i think that microsoft made a good choice with having peter jackson help make the movie. peter jackson did an unbelievable job with the lord of the rings series and king kong and i think that he will do a good job with halo too.

  • EternalMax

    Posted Nov 28, 2007 5:43 am PT

    i love history of violence, the action was really cool....but i don't think that josh olson is right for the job....

  • cteclaw

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 7:40 pm PT

    No I hasnt smeghead83

  • roof_sniper

    Posted Oct 6, 2007 6:48 am PT

    smeghead83 its old news because it says its from october 31st of 2006. this is 2007............

  • smeghead83

    Posted Oct 6, 2007 12:22 am PT

    lol OLD NEWS, Fox are now funding the movie and its been green lighted

  • Temujin_basic

    Posted Aug 27, 2007 1:23 pm PT

    THANK GOD! Just don't do the movie, please! Don't ruin it, stick with making Halo games instead. And NO to MGS movie too, please please Hollywood enuff blasphemy.

  • funky_facon

    Posted Aug 7, 2007 8:01 pm PT

    they keep making movies out of games lets hope its not as bad as the games made from movies HEY i heard they're making rayman raving rabbids a movie

  • Gta4lif3

    Posted Jul 29, 2007 1:52 pm PT

    this movie is gonna get murder by the metal gear movie.

  • snaker49

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 9:25 am PT

    where did you hear about filming gamerboy27?

  • The_Dragon_Wolf

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 2:18 pm PT

    I really really liked the Halo trailer that was in full CGI .... the one in which the Chief used the bubble shield for the first time .. it had fantastic quality & direction ... i wish they make the whole movie with CGI of this quality .. just wonder how much it will cost !!!!!?

  • gamerboy27

    Posted Jul 16, 2007 1:52 am PT

    they r filming in new zealand

  • snaker49

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 12:25 pm PT

    Will be the best movie ever created on the face of mankind!!!!

  • kyle96789

    Posted Jun 14, 2007 6:35 pm PT

    HALO IS THE BEST

  • GameCrook

    Posted Jun 3, 2007 12:53 pm PT

    Why make a movie?

  • elite_ferns1

    Posted May 21, 2007 8:53 am PT

    if the movie does come out, i hope it is an epic and not just a senseless, gore filled action movie. Don't get me wrong, the gore in the game was great, but it was the story that really kept me going. And plus gore-y movies usually get forgotten overtime. But i want this movie to stay in the hearts of hardcore fans and movie goers.

  • themidgethotel

    Posted May 17, 2007 6:36 am PT

    i agree with MoDollars. it's kind of odd that they would allow an inexperienced director to direct a movie adaptation of Halo merit. The video game world needs a solid movie adaptation! Not that it really matters right now, though, b/c Halo: The Movie has been put off, but hopefully it won't become the Duke Nukem Forever of tinseltown.

  • GHEmpire

    Posted May 14, 2007 5:48 pm PT

    it would be awesome to see a movie would be weird though if john is tom cruise lol

  • MoDollars

    Posted May 14, 2007 4:51 am PT

    i hope steven speilberg can direct the movie, he's a excellent choice.

  • jacnewforce07

    Posted May 14, 2007 4:46 am PT

    I'm ready for the movie!

  • biggsk

    Posted May 6, 2007 5:29 pm PT

    they better make a halo movie...it would be about 2 times better than the game (as long as it is a long movie ^^) i hope they continue making it !!!

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