Halo film: Difference between revisions

{{Title|''Halo'' film}}

{{Status|RealWorld}}

{{Quote|If we ever make a Halo movie, who would you want to write it?" I asked [[Martin O'Donnell|Marty]] as we exited the theater, "I bet that Garland guy would be all over the [[Flood]].|[[Joseph Staten]], after watching ''[[wikipedia:28 Days Later|28 Days Later]]''.{{Ref/Site|Id=GreatJourney|URL=https://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?cid=6403|Site=Bungie.net|Page=The Great (Hollywood) Journey|D=07|M=02|Y=2021}}}}

The '''''Halo'' film''', officially confirmed in [[2005 (real world)|2005]],{{Ref/Site|Id=BBC|URL=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4181000.stm|Site=BBC News|Page=Halo game set for silver screen|D=21|M=03|Y=2022}} was a film project in development until its ultimate cancellation in [[2006]].{{Ref/Site|Id=HaloHolding|URL=https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/10/31/halo-holding|Site=IGN|Page=Halo Holding|D=21|M=03|Y=2022}} The film, intended to be produced by [[Peter Jackson]] and Fran Walsh and directed by [[Neill Blomkamp]] was postponed indefinitely when funding studios [[wikipedia:20th Century Fox|20th Century Fox]] and [[wikipedia:Universal Studios|Universal Pictures]] pulled out due to monetary concerns.{{Ref/Reuse|IndieWire}}

==Development==

===Early origins===

Discussions for a potential ''Halo'' film began in early [[2002]], shortly after the release of ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' and in the early preproduction stages of ''[[Halo 2]]''. At this time, Hollywood began getting in contact with Bungie staff, surprising the development team with just how far their game's success had reached. Ultimately, these early talks didn't amount to much, as film production for game adaptations at the time was expected to see Bungie have almost nothing to do with the film, with creative control entirely ceded to the filming crew. As such, [[Pete Parsons]] urged [[Joseph Staten]] to put the film on the backseat, as any time spent on a film project would be time taken away from [[Development of Halo 2|developing ''Halo 2'']] - a production which would soon become an infamous development hell.{{Ref/Reuse|GreatJourney}}

Fox pulling out of the project Universal had already poured $12 million caused Universal to threaten Fox with legal action, though the two ultimately settled out of court - though anonymous sources later reported that Universal lost nearly all of its investment in the process.{{Ref/Reuse|Vulture}} Despite this obstacle in production, Ken Kamins - a representative of Jackson - confirmed in an interview on October 29, 2007 that the ''Halo'' film was still in pre-production. According to Kamins, Blomkamp had not been dropped - in spite of his earlier statements.{{Ref/Site|URL=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/174687/ms-already-in-talks-to-continue-halo-film/|Site=CVG|Page=MS "already in talks" to continue Halo film|D=17|M=10|Y=2012}}

===Story and script===

====Garland's script====

<!--https://web.archive.org/web/20051124033711/http://latinoreview.com/scriptreviews/halo/review.html-->

====Del Toro's script====

Preproduction for the film was primarily carried out by [[WETA Workshop]], known for their work on ''Lord of the Rings''. WETA worked for around six months to create a number of physical props for the film and the subsequent ''Halo: Landfall'' short film, based on equipment designs from across ''Halo: Combat Evolved'', ''Halo 2'' and the then-upcoming ''Halo 3''.{{Ref/Site|Id=RT|URL=http://uk.rottentomatoes.com:80/m/district_9/news/1842105/2/neill_blomkamp_talks_district_9_rt_interview|Site=Rotten Tomatoes|Page=Neill Blomkamp talks District 9 - RT Interview|D=03|M=02|Y=2010}} These include [[BR55 battle rifle]]s, [[SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle]]s, [[ODST armor]], [[UNSC Marine Corps Battle Dress Uniform|Marine armor]], a [[Laser designator]], an [[M41 SPNKR]] rocket launcher and perhaps most notably, a 1:1 fully-drivable replica of the [[M12 Warthog]], complete with a fully-rotating [[M41 Vulcan]] turret.{{Ref/Reuse|BWU72007}} A number of images of these props were posted by Blomkamp on his Instagram page in [[2014]], though many of the images have since been deleted. They include radical redesigns of the [[Covenant]] species, with total rehauls given to the [[Sangheili|Elite]] and [[San'Shyuum|Prophet]] characters.{{Ref/Site|URL=http://www.healthregen.net/2015/01/neill-blomkamps-failed-halo-movie-props/|Site=Health Regen|Page=Neill Blomkamp’s Failed Halo Movie Props|D=06|M=01|Y=2015}}  

Guillermo del Toro also did a concept design for the Master Chief during his brief time attached to the film. He described the process in the DVD commentary for ''[[wikipedia:Hellboy II: The Golden Army|Hellboy 2]]'', in which he described Master Chief's helmet as being ''"sleek and self concealed"''. It is likely that this direction, along with the unconventional Elite and Prophet designs mentioned prior, were those concepts mentioned as being too risky for Microsoft - who were wanting more conventional designs for a summer action blockbuster.{{Ref/Reuse|Wired}}

<gallery>

File:HaloMovie Elite Concept.png|Concept art for a radically redesigned Elite, by Aaron Beck.

File:HaloMovie Elite Prop.jpg|A physical prop of an Elite, posted by Neill Blomkamp on Instagram.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://instagram.com/p/ntynbEqhHW/|Site=Instagram|Page=@Neill Blomkamp|Quote=#halo elite from 06 #weta|NoArchive=yes|D=04|M=05|Y=2014}}

===''Halo: Landfall'' and ''District 9''===

{{Main|Halo: Landfall}}

Although the ''Halo'' film was cancelled, Jackson, Blomkamp and [[WETA Workshop]] had spent months on preproduction for the ''Halo'' film, and built numerous props including [[ODST armor]], [[SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle|sniper rifles]], [[BR55HB battle rifle|battle rifles]] and [[UNSC Marine Corps Battle Dress Uniform|Marine armor]] - among others. As such, this effort was not wasted, and Blomkamp instead directed a series of shorts titled ''[[Halo: Landfall]]''. The ''Landfall'' project comprised of three short videos titled ''[[Halo: Arms Race|Arms Race]]'', ''[[Halo: Combat|Combat]]'' and ''[[Halo: Last One Standing|Last One Standing]]'', released over [[Xbox LIVE]] in parts and eventually compiled under the ''Landfall'' name. The shorts depict an [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]] fireteam during the [[Battle for Earth]] concurrent with the opening of ''[[Halo 3]]'', and employ many of the props developed by WETA for the film project.{{Ref/Reuse|VICE}} While filming ''Landfall'', Blomkamp suffered an injury in the Warthog that tore off part of his right ear, requiring reconstructive surgery.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/neill-blomkamp-ripped-his-ear-off-in-a-warthog-while-filming-halo/|Site=PC Gamer|Page=Neill Blomkamp ripped his ear off in a Warthog while filming Halo|D=21|M=03|Y=2022}}