Halo, as a classic franchise, is in something of a unique position for video game properties. It was both a smash hit, big enough to be known even to those who don't play video games, yet released just late enough to have missed its opportunity to be a Hollywood film. Franchises and mascots of the Playstation generation and earlier had a wave of film adaptations, and even games like Postal could make the silver screen. Though Halo has had several animated movies, it's never seen a full theatrical release of any feature length, big budget film. But that doesn't mean Microsoft never tried.
Some Halo fans are likely familiar with Landfall, a set of three live action shorts made to promote the release of Halo 3. They were highly praised for their effects, camera work, and accurate recreation of the game's atmosphere and aesthetic. What some may not know, however, is that those shorts were directed by Neil Blomkamp, acclaimed sci-fi director, and that they were once a part of something much larger.
Landfall, it seems, was a great opportunity for Blomkamp, and after it came out so well, Microsoft kept his name under consideration for the creation of a feature length Halo film. It would be both the property's first venture into Hollywood, and Blomkamp's first feature film. Microsoft was sparing no expense either: the company hired Alex Garland of 28 Days Later to develop a complete script and package to sell, and eventually inked a full distribution deal with both 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios. Universal would handle domestic distribution, and Fox would take the overseas market. Peter Jackson was tapped as a producer on the film, and Guillermo del Toro would direct, though he quickly left to work on Hellboy II, and was replaced by Blomkamp.
Blomkamp reportedly approached the project with gusto, being an avid gamer and fan of the universe. While it's unknown exactly what changes he made to the script, Microsoft was apparently anxious to ensure the project stuck close to the story of the original game. Humanity, on the run from a dangerous alien enemy known as the Covenant, discovers an ancient alien ringworld known as Halo. On the ring, they discover a parasitic threat to the galaxy known as the Flood, and realize that Halo is actually a massive superweapon meant to end all life in the galaxy. In initial plans, Blomkamp was eager to bring a gritty, rough, militaristic look to the project that would come to define his later work.
This is where things began to go awry, however. According to Blomkamp, the producers, and especially . In later interview, Blomkamp admitted "[20th Century Fox boss Tim] Rothman hated me, I think he would have gotten rid of me if he could have. The suits weren’t happy with the direction I was going." Not only that, but things got ugly between the big players. Fox and Universal both began to demand more creative control on a project that Universal had already sunk over $12 million into, and tensions started mounting. Eventually Fox pulled its trump card, and tore up the deal with Peter Jackson and the other creative leads. Universal approached the producers, offering to let them continue on the project for a substantial pay cut, which they all declined. In this act, the project had lost some of its most important leads, and effectively died.
That's not to say that nothing of value came out of the whole experience. In the years after the project fell apart, Blomkamp managed to repurpose many of the existing props and sets into District 9, which ended up being a big hit and one of the best sci-fi films of that year. In the years since, Blomkamp has been honest about the squabbling that prevented him from making the film he wanted: “Basically, the politics between Fox and Universal crashed the movie, Fox wanted more control of the film, I think, and Universal was in the driver’s seat. And they were just going at one another, and finally the whole thing fractured." Despite the experience, however, Blomkamp remains steadfast that his film could have been great. "Thing was, though, I’d played Halo and I play video games. I’m that generation more than they are and I know that my version of Halo would have been insanely cool. It was more fresh and potentially could have made more money than just a generic, boring film." While Blomkamp has shared some concepts from the original project, much of the story and vision he worked on seems to be lost to time, or only ever existed in theory.
Since the initial project crumbled, there hasn't been much talk of another big budget Halo film. The series has released a couple of smaller budget films, usually as companion pieces to the games, and a Halo TV series is currently in production, but no one has stepped up to take another crack at a movie for general audiences. Even Blomkamp is more hesitant when asked if he'd try again: "when you inherit other people’s ideas, the people that control the ideas mess with you... So my ultimate place is doing exactly what I want, and getting the right sum of money to do exactly what I want, and pulling it off properly." Perhaps Microsoft has abandoned the concept entirely, or perhaps their future plans rest on the potential of the upcoming TV series. For now, all Halo fans can do is dream, and think back fondly on what might have been, and what almost was.