The Halo franchise's quest to produce a feature-length film has been almost as epic as the games themselves, with Peter Jackson, Neill Blomkamp and Steven Spielberg all making appearances as the real-life drama has unfolded. Even though Bungie and Microsoft are parting ways post-"Reach," finding a way to turn Halo into a success outside of games is something Microsoft wants to see happen, whether it means working with a studio or bringing it to HBO as a TV series.
"There will be a Halo movie. We don't need a movie. But we'd like a movie," Halo franchise development director Frank O'Connor told Harold Goldberg of the New York Videogame Critics Circle. "We'd like the moms of gamers to see the movies because they would love our characters. Maybe we’ll even fund it ourselves."
O'Connor explained that Microsoft is keeping their options open, too.
"We'd love to see Halo as a television series," he said. "Look what HBO did with Band of Brothers or even Rome. Something like that would work because the Halo universe is so vast."
O'Connor was reportedly approached by a high-level network executive the Future of Television East conference in New York last week, and though the exec agreed to bring large amounts of money to the table, he wouldn't be the first to try securing the rights to Master Chief.
In the post-Bungie era, there's going to be a lot of pressure on MS to make sure they do right by Halo, whatever happens. Either a film or a "Sopranos"-sized TV series would be fine by me as long as they make it look good, but I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering where that exec was from.
Would you rather see Halo become a film or a TV series? Do you trust Microsoft to make the right choices? Share your opinions with us in the comment section below.