Given the success of the Halo franchise on Xbox, it's crazy that Master Chief has never received the big screen treatment but considering the fact that video game movies have such a spotty track record, it's easy to see why they've seemingly been reluctant to move forward with an adaptation of any sort.
However, the franchise is now on its way to television (finally) as Showtime is developing a series which has been confirmed for a ten-episode first season with Kyle Killen (Awake) serving as showrunner.
Now, it's been confirmed that the show is going to feature fan-favourite character John-117, a.k.a. Master Chief. "It took us a long time to get the script but we felt like we had something that was really interesting and felt like it belonged on Showtime in terms of its character depth, and it’s going to be a big show," Showtime President and CEO David Nevins said after confirming Master Chief.
As for what made Killen a good fit to write and take charge of the series, Showtime President of Programming Gary Levine added: "We made a conscious decision to hire a writer not known for sci-fi and not known for big battle movies because that’s already baked into the Halo franchise, and we will service that, but we also wanted to ensure that we were getting beneath the formidable armor of the Spartans and really getting inside the team drama so it felt like it belonged on Showtime."
It's previously been reported that the Halo TV show will feature multiple leads and multiple planets, so it's good to know that a place has been found for Master Chief. What do you guys think of this news?