Halo Fan Movie Coming Fall 2011

Halo is one of the defining video game series of this generation. With such a huge fan base, it's a small wonder why it hasn't gotten the Hollywood film treatment, especially with drama and action set pieces that would translate so well into the format. While there still isn't any definitive word on a full length Hollywood feature, there is a promising short fan film being produced by Majic Pictures in association with Divine Film Studio going by the name Halo: Faith.

Halo fans have dreamed of a big screen adaptation for quite some time, and considering that we've seen the series expand into every other medium from novels to comics to anime, and even into short live-action films before, the lack of a major film franchise is somewhat puzzling.

The game even helped popularize and advance the Machinima film-making community through use by Rooster Teeth in its legendary comedy series Red vs. Blue.

Over the years things even looked genuinely hopeful, as big names such as Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson have been rumoured to be working on a film. When District 9 director Neill Blomkamp directed the Halo 3 promotional short film 'Landfall' the world got a glimpse at what could be done with the Halo franchise in the film industry.

Since then, the Halo games have released with high production live-action trailers that seek to wow with visuals and often appeal to the series often overlooked emotional side. If you have yet to see some of Blomkamp's advertising campaign, have a look now:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKGhoJ1mgQY

Microsoft has stated that they would love to see a Halo film or even TV series. They would go so far as to finance the whole thing themselves and also allow the director some creative license. It's been a long time however, and we've yet to see any confirmation of a Halo feature film.

And so we arrive at Faith, a project born out of the minds of Jake Commons (writer), Jared Pelletier (director, producer, screenplay), and Erik Tallek (producer, screenplay). The team of Halo fans felt that with the dedication and creativity the series has inspired since its beginnings, they could push the boundaries of what is done in a short film format:

"The goal of this project is to set a new standard in this level of filmmaking (and hopefully get us noticed for doing so!). We've seen tons of fantastic fan work before, so we figured we would change it up. We recruited designers, artists, and a number of other top post professionals from films such as 'Avatar', 'The Hulk', and 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' to bring the film to life. Our environments are entirely CG along with all elements aside from our main live action characters and props. The processes we're taking are not breaking new ground in film as a whole, but are changing the form at the level we're working."

That's some impressive experience they've got behind them on this project, and while it may not be the big budget Hollywood blockbuster we hope to see, this might help get the ball rolling on a larger Halo movie sometime in the future.

Halo: Faith will be releasing this Fall via Machinima.com's YouTube Channel with limited theatrical release before it hits the internet. Stay tuned to the film's Facebook page for more release information and for the trailer they will no doubt be posting.

What would you like to see in a Halo film? An adaptation of the novels or of the games? Would you prefer an entirely original plot?

We'll see what direction the creators have decided to go when more details on Halo: Faith arrive.

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Source: Fan Film Follies, Facebook