Spielberg Producing a Halo Movie?

Published by Jeff Leins on: August 9th, 2009

Steven Spielberg may be working out a deal to acquire an adaptation of Halo, the extremely popular video game franchise from Microsoft.  Stuart Beattie (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) wrote the screenplay under consideration.  No word if his partner on Tintin, Peter Jackson, would return as producer.

A deal was struck between Microsoft and Fox in 2005, becoming the most expensive video game adaptation deal in history.  Jackson served as executive producer on the project from 2005 to 2007, hiring District 9 director Neill Blomkamp to make his feature film debut.  Blomkamp even worked with Bungie (the creator of the game) and WETA (Jackson’s effects company) on three shorts to promote the release of Halo 3 on Xbox.  The project eventually collapsed after several months of preparation and the rights reverted to Microsoft.

After the fall of Jackson’s movie and during the 2007-2008 writer’s strike, Beattie wrote a version titled Halo: The Fall of Reach complete with concept art.  It sounds like he wants to direct it himself.  Screenwriters don’t usually have art drawn up with their scripts…

According to the IESB.net exclusive, Beattie’s screenplay is what caused Spielberg’s sudden excitement and the possibility of making it a tentpole summer movie at DreamWorks.  The rumor is supposedly backed by “studio executives” and “close ties at CAA,” who represent Spielberg and Beattie.

Spielberg already has ties to the company, so it’s possible.  He appeared on stage at this year’s Microsoft E3 presentation to unveil Project Natal, a motion capture gaming system that would allow players to control character movements using only their body.  He’s also supposedly a big gamer himself and the potential title for a fourth Halo has been rumored to be Halo: Reach.

At Comic-Con, Blomkamp said he wouldn’t return to direct Halo if he was asked.  I saw District 9 at a screening last night in Austin (which was unbelievable and amazing) and Blomkamp was there for a lengthy Q&A session.  He said the production budget on Halo would have been somewhere around $125 million (not the rumored $200 million fabrication from the Internet), but they never received a greenlight.

What do you think?  Will it happen this time, or is it more wishful thinking from eager Hollywood producers?