Skip to main content

Universal, Fox Back Out of Halo Movie

Looks like Master Chief still has to overcome some fiscal enemies before he gets to kick some alien butt on the big screen.

A little over a year ago, Microsoft inked a deal to bring its Halo video game franchise to the big screen, with Universal Pictures handling the actual production of the movie as well as its domestic distribution, while international distribution would be handled by Twentieth Century Fox. The movie then brought on producing team Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong) to executive-produce the project with established producers Mary Parent, Scott Stuber, and Peter Schlessel. Pre-production has been underway at Weta Digital and Weta Workshop in New Zealand.

Now, on the eve of a required $5 million payment to Microsoft, both Universal and Fox have gotten cold feet and pulled out of the deal. According to the industry trade paper Variety and other sources, the studios pulled out of the project for the oldest and simplest of reasons: money. Budgets for the movie are rumored to have ballooned from an expected $135 million to nearly $200 million—although producers deny those reports—with Microsoft is slated to receive 10 percent of the film’s gross revenues. Both Universal and Fox apparently felt that trusting such a large project to a young, untested director—Neill Blomkamp—with so much of the gross revenue already allocated was a no-win situation: either the filmmakers and Microsoft would have to take a smaller cut, or the studios would walk. And walk they did.

Microsoft, its in-house Bungie studio (which developed the Halo game), and producers Jackson and Walsh are now looking for new studio partners for the Halo film. Jackson and Walsh have re-iterated their confidence in director Blomkamp, and pre-production continues unabated at Weta. With names like Jackson and Walsh behind it—as well as Microsoft’s influence and deep pockets—there seems to be little doubt the Halo movie will be made; it’s just a question of which studios will be involved in the production and/or distribution.

Microsoft’s relationship with Jackson and Walsh recently deepened with a deal to bring them in on the next installment of the Halo franchise, as well as create an entirely original game for the Xbox 360 platform.

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Mecha Break’s robot customization shakes up the battle royale formula
Mecha Break robot head with glowing blue eyes

Mecha Break isn't the kind of multiplayer game you can master right away.

You might equip a lance that you barely know how to use because it seemed like a good idea, and spend the rest of a round attempting to bash yourself into enemies to help your teammates. It incorporates action that's more similar to that of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon than it is to the shooter-focused gameplay in Gundam Evolution, Bandai Namco's multiplayer mecha shooter that shut down last year. Overwatch does come to mind, but in a way where mechs are still the focus rather than the pilots within them.

Read more
Visions of Mana paints a promising picture of the RPG series’ return
Red-haired girl with horns and dragon wing in Visions of Mana

The vibrant settings and character designs in Visions of Mana instantly alerted me that I'd be knee-deep into fantasy, riding on the back of a giant black wolf into the grassy plains of Fallow Steppe. A lush landscape welcomed me as I chatted with my teammates on top of my mount and tussled with little woodland monsters.

I had this experience at this year's PAX East, where I went hands-on with a demo of the upcoming RPG. I never played previous Mana games, but I have enough experience with RPGs and real-time combat to name it one of the most gorgeous, action-packed games I played at the show. The shiny open-world and slick combat I experienced point to a strong comeback for the Mana series coming later this summer.

Read more
Sega lays off 240 workers and sells Company of Heroes 3 studio
sega lets relic entertainment go independent company of heroes 3 girl

Sega Europe is going through some major restructuring, and as a result, it is laying off about 240 developers and letting Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment spin off as an independent company.

Although Sega's Japanese developers are known for their platformers, action games, and RPGs, its European output is more strategy game-focused. A key component of that was Relic Entertainment, which has made games like Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, Age of Empires IV, and Company of Heroes 3 over the past decade. With the help of investment company Emona Capital, Relic is buying itself back from Sega and going independent for an undisclosed amount. Relic addressed going independent on X (formerly Twitter) with a message.

Read more