Steven Spielberg's Halo TV series is still in "very active development." Back in 2013, 343 Industries announced that Steven Spielberg would be serving as executive producer for a live-action Halo TV series. It's been months since fans of the franchise last had any news; back in July 2017, Microsoft Studios and 343 Entertainment confirmed that the project was still in the works.

At the Television Critics Association's winter press tour, TVGuide asked Showtime president and CEO David Nevins for an update. He confirmed that the series was "still in very active development," and added that he's seen the scripts. Gary Levine, president of programming at Showtime, confirmed this. "It's still live action," Levine added, "and it will definitely satisfy the fans of Halo and I think also satisfy the drama audiences of Showtime."

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The Halo franchise was launched on the Xbox in 2001, and it swiftly developed its own intense mythology. Each game added to the Halo universe, gradually revealing the secrets of the alien Covenant and the ancient history of the human race itself. Meanwhile, a series of popular novels have continued to expand the universe, with recent books even revealing the ancient history of the Forerunners. The novels have been adapted into a number of other formats, ranging from comics to animated movies.

But the most thrilling idea of all is a live-action film or TV series.  In 2004, Bungie confirmed a partnership with 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures to create and distribute a Halo movie. It was planned to be live-action, with heavy use of CGI. Wingnut Films, the team behind Lord of the Rings and King Kong, were signed up to work on the film. Unfortunately, in 2006 Fox and Universal bowed out, and production on the film stalled.

That's where the Halo TV series came in. The series was originally planned to launch on Showtime and Xbox One back in 2015 alongside the release of 343 Industries' Halo 5: Guardians. Unfortunately, that changed in 2014, when Microsoft canceled their plans to develop original programming for their Xbox systems. The series was effectively left in limbo, and until last year it was actually believed to have been canceled.

Fans are sure to have a mixed reaction to this latest statement. On the one hand, it's exciting to hear that the series is still in progress, and that scripts have been produced. At the same time though, it seems to be slow going for the Halo TV series. The sad truth is that fans shouldn't expect to get more news anytime soon.

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Source: TVGuide