Half a decade after acquiring the independent developer Bungie Studios and enjoying record-breaking sales with the Bungie megahits Halo 1 and 2, Microsoft is poised to cash in on Bungie's monumental success by contracting out a Halo movie to Universal Studios and Twentieth Century Fox.
Microsoft has also requested that the Halo movie be finished as early as possible, and wants to release it before the 2006 release of the highly aniticipated Halo 3, but the film studios have made no such promises.
Alex Garland, producer of 2003's "28 days later", has been recruited by Microsoft to produce a script for the Halo movie, but Microsoft has made it clear that the company wants to protect the halo franchise. Close cooperation with Bungie will ensure that "the Halo franchise is protected and is something Halo fans can be proud of", Microsoft says.
Video game movies have had a rough track record - the very best have scraped by as mediocre summer sleepers, and some, like Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, have bombed in Box Office Sales, but Microsoft is confident in the weight the Halo franchise has over the 13-34 demographic, and expects ticket sales on the order of the first two games, Halo 2 alone generating $125 million in revenue on launch and causing dozens of Halo forums to pop up in its wake. The profits are secure, the fanbase is eager for the Halo story to unfold, and merchandizers are ready to cash in, but dedicated Halo fans can only hope that the Halo movie will be done right and live up to the lofty expectations Bungie has never failed to achieve and surpass.
