Note: This is a not an April Fool’s Day joke. Screenwriter Stuart Beattie, whose script is behind the $170 million G.I. Joe that’s currently filming, has written a full spec-script for a potential Halo movie according to Latino Review. Moreover, his script is based on Eric Nylund’s first book tie-in, the prequel Halo: The Fall of Reach, and carries the same name.
For those not in the know, a “spec script” means a script that’s written without the screenwriter being paid or contracted to do so. Apparently Beattie (Spy Hunter, Pirates of the Caribbean 1) is a fan of Bungie’s ginormous video game franchise and wishes to get the first film off life support, where it’s been since last summer when producer Peter Jackson and hotshot director Neil Blomkampf once again threw in the towel after an eruption of distribution differences.
Not only does Beattie’s Halo: The Fall of Reach deliver a worthy action film according to LR’s inside source but it sets up a trilogy of films to coincide with the three Xbox installments. Here’s what the source said…
“The script is, first and foremost, a character-driven story about a soldier named John who was kidnapped or “conscripted” by the UNSC when he was just six years old, and then brutally trained to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117.
The script then takes us through the horrific first contact with the Covenant hordes on the doomed colony world of Harvest, and then climaxes with the spectacular fall of the UNSC forward base on Reach, during which every other Spartan is slaughtered.”
The source goes on to compare the script to Jaws, in that the Covenant (the series’ cunning alliance of aliens) isn’t seen until the half-way point, thereby making the first film financially attractive. In 2005, a script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later) that went through several rewrites was set to be used for Blomkampf’s film. Of note, Beattie also wrote the Gears of War video game adaptation that is now reportedly scheduled for 2010.
Discuss: Will Halo: The Movie ever happen? Furthermore, will the infamously uptight dudes at Microsoft give Beattie’s script the time of day?
April 1st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I really hope this happens because that sounds like an awesome script. great potential for an amazing film.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Damn. You got me again! JK
April 1st, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I really hope so, im a huge halo fan too, and my halo fan i mean the story behind the game for the most part, especially the eric nylund books, they are awesome. That was always my biggest beef about the games, Nylund created this amazing universe behind the games that bungie basically ignored (until the very end of the last game).
April 1st, 2008 at 8:23 pm
this just made my day. i really hope this project gets back on track.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:26 pm
This could be awesome. I think simply by having it not be about the games, Microsoft might let it through. Once they see the money it’ll make, they’d definitely greenlight a trilogy.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Halo has the makings of being a really “smart” and well-designed Sci-fi film or series. But it comes down too how close they follow the original material and how seriously the project is taken.
A friend of mine was adamant about me reading the books and all the back history having to do with this main character and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the mythos and all the background built around The Master Chief and the whole Spartan Program.
I really hope they go for broke with this project instead of giving us a cheapass MTV quick job.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Sweet cant wait
Check out this fan made trailer for Halo movie one of the most epic trailers I have seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-1sNgnBgkw
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Um…this guy shouldn’t waste his time. It was already reported on IMDB that Alex Garland was paid $1 million by Microsoft to write an adaptation of Halo. Microsoft then sold the script to Universal for $10 million.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464037/
April 4th, 2008 at 9:46 am
The Alex Garland script was the original one for the Peter Jackson version that pretty much got canned.
I’m not saying it’s not possible for that film to still go ahead with the Garland script but it’s not that likely.
And I would much rather see a character story based on The Fall of Reach than just a movie adaptation of the first game.