Wanna See What a Live Action 'Halo' Flick Would've Looked Like?

Not long ago, 20th Century Fox and Universal had struck a deal with Microsoft to bring their most popular video game, Halo, to the big screen. Producer Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) felt comfortable assigning newbie director Neill Blomkamp the task of creating a live action flick (with help from screenwriter Alex Garland), but just when casting rumors began to circulate, the project died on the operating table. Fans everywhere were crushed, and both studios just didn't feel confident enough to invest in a big-budgeted video game adaptation when other such films hadn't performed well at the box office. Recently, Jackson went on record with OnFilm Magazine noting that he expects Fox and Universal to change their minds once they see how nuts people get for the latest Halo installment, Halo 3. Well, it looks like Microsoft, Blomkamp and WETA Digital took things a step further ...

During the E3 conference yesterday, Microsoft unveiled a number of Halo-related goodies; one of which was a live-action teaser helmed by the Halo would-be director, Neill Blomkamp. With help from WETA, Blomkamp cut together a pretty enticing little teaser -- featuring a bunch of soldiers preparing for battle -- in the hopes (I assume) to not only promote the new game, but also give Fox and Universal a taste of what he envisions a film version would ultimately look like. (Note: After you click on the link above, scroll down to Halo Arms Race, as that's the trailer Blomkamp directed.) Personally, I wasn't immediately jazzed by it (some of the shots looked like stock photos of an auto-parts factory), but apparently this isn't the only one Blomkamp created. Thus, we can expect to see more in the coming months leading up to the official release of Halo 3. Will Jackson's predictions turn out to be true? Will Fox and Universal see enough to warrant another greenlight? It's still up in the air, but I wouldn't be surprised if, come this fall, we get word that a Halo movie is in the works once again.