Summary
The journey to get a live-actionHaloadaptation was a long and arduous one. After some excellent Neill Blomkamp-directedHaloshorts made their way online back in 2007, a live-actionHaloadaptation seemed like the obvious next step for the franchise, but it would be another six years until talk of a proper live-actionHaloTV show came about. Originally set to beproduced by Steven Spielberg, theHaloshow went through development hell, swapping hands multiple times before finally releasing in March 2022 as a Paramount Plus streaming show.
Upon its 2022 debut, Paramount’sHaloshow was met with a rather divisive reception from both critics and fans. Currently,HaloSeason 1 sits at a 61 on Metacritic, and the recently released Season 2 is at a barely higher 64. To many fans, the decade-long wait for aHalolive-action adaptation hasn’t been worth it, but that doesn’t mean aHaloshow or movie could never work under the right circumstances.
The Halo Show’s Reception Shouldn’t Mean the End of Live-Action Adaptations
The Halo Show Is Leaving Behind a Disappointing Legacy
Paramount’sHaloshow was controversial pretty much from the get-go. After such a long wait, many fans were desperate to see aHaloshow that faithfully adapted the source material, but the show’s creators were quick to confirm that this wouldn’t be a one-to-one adaptation and that it would be making some major changes to the franchise’s lore. Set within its own “Silver” canon timeline,Paramount’sHaloshowfeatures a handful of key characters and moments from the Bungie and 343 game universe, but it changes the context around nearly all of them.
The first season ofHalohad no shortage of controversial moments, from Master Chief constantly taking off his helmet, to the incredibly polarizing sex scene towards the end of the season that sees the Chief form a relationship with a prisoner of war. ThoughHaloSeason 2 featured slightly less controversial moments, it still had enough to upset long-time fans, such as the mishandling of the Fall of Reach, and the abruptdeath of Captain Keyes.
Following the disappointing reception ofHalo’s second season, Paramount has decided to cancel the show altogether. While the show’s creators are reportedly trying to keep the show alive by taking it to a different platform, it seems likely that the show is gone for good, at least in its current form. In the aftermath of its cancelation, Paramount’sHalois leaving behind a disappointing legacy, where its few moments of solid action and character work are vastly overshadowed by its many widespread controversies.
A Halo Show Still Has So Much Potential
But just because thisHalolive-action adaptation failed doesn’t mean that one can never work.TheHalouniverseis a sprawling one filled with compelling characters and enthralling plot points, and it’s all just waiting for the right showrunners and creatives to come along and adapt it all properly. The nextHalolive-action adaptation simply needs to bring the games to life or offer side stories set in the same universe that don’t revolve around the Master Chief. TheHalofranchise deserves to be a sprawling Sci-Fi epic in the same vein asBattlestar Galactica,Star Trek, andThe Mandalorian, and Paramount’s attempt shouldn’t limit that.
Halo
Cast
Based on the immensely popular video game franchise, Paramount+’s Halo series follows the journey of Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and his fellow humans in the future war against the Covenant.
