Monday, January 27, 2014

Microsoft: "We're going to do the Halo television series the right way"

Microsoft’s Phil Spencer discusses the company’s plans for the upcoming Halo television series for Xbox One, and we also delve into the recent rumors around Neil Blomkamp directing the pilot.



In a recent interview with Total Xbox , Microsoft’s Phil Spencer outlined a few details about the incoming Halo television series exclusive to the Xbox One.

Spencer reflects that additional source content has helped define the rich Halo universe–the veritable galaxy of books, graphic novels, and soon the television show–have all played their part in not only building the framework of the series but also expanding it to new mediums.
“I think there’s a story in the Halo games that’s noteworthy, and that we can introduce more people to the IP by putting the franchise, stories, and characters in more accessible mediums than a first person shooter.

“That’s a good thing for Halo, a good thing for the platform, and a good thing for the IP owners. We did this last holiday with Forward Unto Dawn, which had something like 70 million views. I think it helped us with the launch of Halo 4, but it also was just a thing people liked to watch.”



When asked if the Halo television series would tie-in to the previously announced Halo game planned to release in 2014, Spencer didn’t answer directly–but he does acknowledge that the idea of a tie-in would be beneficial.
” I also think going into the launch of any game, it’s a nice tie-in; we learned that with Forward Unto Dawn where you can get people upbeat and excited about the IP and bring it as part of your overall launch momentum.”

Also the Microsoft exec underlines that the company takes Halo seriously, and they’re going to do the series “the right way”:
“I definitely don’t think of it as filler; Halo, you could argue, is the most important entertainment IP that Microsoft owns. I can’t use the word filler anywhere near Halo, it just won’t work. If we’re gonna do a television series with Halo, we’re gonna do it the right way, and we’re gonna do it because we think it really matters.”



This suggests that Microsoft will be pulling out all the stops when it comes to the series, making it a high-budget and even higher-profile project. With the legendary director Steven Spielberg at the helm anything is possible, and it’ll be interesting to see just how the sci-fi juggernaut fares when it airs across Xbox Ones across the world.

Microsoft recently dispelled any rumors behind the possibility of a Halo movie in the near future, stating that it “has no plans to make a Halo film at this time”. With the Redmond-based tech giant so firmly invested in the Xbox One’s production and games development–not to mention exclusive content for the console like the Halo TV show–we’re not surprised.



More rumors have surfaced on the Halo front, this time with the famed District 9 director Neil Blomkamp supposedly enlisted to direct the pilot for the TV series. You may remember an amazing little short called Halo Landfall that Blomkamp crafted back in 2007 in preparation for Halo 3.

In more ways than one, Landfall was a sort of practice scenario for the live-action adaptation of the landmark series that Blomkamp signed up to create in conjunction with Peter Jackson.

Ultimately the project fizzled out–the Blomkamp-Jackson duo would end up breaking away from the Halo film, much to the disappointment to just about every fan worldwide.

These reports remain unverified, but it would be a treat to have Blomkamp step back into the ring, as his three-part short film set pain a remarkably vivid picture of the game’s visceral sci-fi battles. Hopefully this one is true, and I have nothing against Spielberg (the man is nothing short of a legend), but it’d be great to see Blomkamp’s un-actualized Halo potential come forth in real time.

Via Total Xbox , CVG





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