'Halo' TV Series Will Be Directed By 'Robin Hood' Filmmaker Otto Bathurst

The long road to adapt Halo to the screen (be it big or small) is almost at an end. Showtime is turning the video game franchise into a new TV series, and they've found their director – Otto Bathurst, the filmmaker behind the recent Robin Hood reboot. Bathurst will direct multiple episodes of the live-action series, and serve as executive producer.

Showtime has officially announced Otto Bathurst as the Halo TV series director. Several high-profile figures have been trying to adapt Halo for years. In 2005, Annihilation director Alex Garland penned a script for a movie, with plans for Peter Jackson to produce, and either Guillermo del Toro or Neill Blomkamp to direct. Blomkamp landed the gig, and Game of Thrones creator D. B. Weiss and Josh Olson came aboard to re-write Garland's script. However, the film never got off the ground.

Now, Showtime hopes to succeed where filmmakers failed. The game series is heavy on action and world-building, which might lend itself to TV – depending on the budget. The original Halo games were made by Bungie, and became some of the most popular games of all time, earning more than most significant films. The first Halo game is credited as saving Xbox and made Microsoft a major player in the games industry. In short, it's impact can not be overstated.

But it also feels like the ship has sailed slightly, and that Halo isn't nearly as popular as it once was. Perhaps the series will change that. The series "will take place in the universe that first came to be in 2001, dramatizing an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant. Halo will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future."

Bathurst, who also has directed Black Mirror, isn't a bad director – but he's not exactly the most exciting choice either. His recent Robin Hood wasn't as bad as some people said it was...but it wasn't great either. This truly seems like another case of someone failing upward. But maybe Halo is just the title the filmmaker needs to prove his mettle. Bathurst is also directing the upcoming TV adaptation of His Dark Materials, and he's worked on Peaky Blinders as well.

Bathurst will helm multiple episodes and executive produce the live-action series, which has an initial nine-episode order. The series is produced by Showtime, in partnership with 343 Industries, along with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television. Production on Halo is set to begin later this year.