The long gestating TV adaptation of hit videogame series Halo is bowing out on Paramount Plus after two seasons. The best Paramount Plus show, which followed Pablo Schreiber’s Master Chief John-117 during a 26th century war between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, had a troubled development process, with Steven Spielberg first discussing a film adaptation in the mid-2000s.
Things finally got moving with the TV version a decade later, with an announcement made for a 2015 premiere on Showtime, which was then delayed to 2019, with Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt on board to direct and Kyle Killen as showrunner. By the time the show made it to air in 2022, it had moved to Paramount Plus – you could also find it on YouTube before Halo season two was released in February earlier this year – Wyatt had been replaced by Peaky Blinders’ Otto Bathurst and Steven Kane had come on board as co-showrunner.
The problems didn’t end there though, with Kane and Killen exiting the show, which didn’t get great reviews, before the second season and David Weiner appointed new showrunner. This behind the scenes turmoil is perhaps the reason that Paramount have decided to cut ties with the show, although sources say that the show’s producers – Amblin, Xbox and 343 Industries – are keen to shop the series to other best streaming services for a potential third season or more.
How do fans feel about the cancellation?
While a statement from 343 Industries thanked “the millions of fans who propelled the Halo series to be a global success” and said the production company “remains committed to broadening the Halo universe in different ways in the future,” fans of the franchise have mixed feelings about its cancellation.
Many have taken to social media to complain that the TV iteration was a poor adaptation. One Reddit user defended the show, stating “the second was a massive improvement […] Had the game not existed and it was its own thing, it would have been an internet darling”.
However another reflected the disappointment in the show as a whole, saying “I cancelled it after a few episodes”, while a third discussed how deviation from the game’s storyline and focusing too much on Master Chief’s backstory “robbed him of his mystique or at least what makes him cool”.
There may yet be a future for Halo on another streaming service, but it’s game over for Master Chief and co. at Paramount Plus.