The live-action “Halo” series has been canceled at Paramount+, Variety has learned.
The big budget series based on the popular Xbox video game franchise aired two seasons at the streaming service. The show originally debuted in 2022, while the second season aired between February and March 2024.
“Paramount+ can confirm that ‘Halo’ will not move forward with a third season on the service,” the streamer said in a stataement. “We are extremely proud of this ambitious series and would like to thank our partners at Xbox, 343 Industries and Amblin Television, along with showrunner and executive producer David Wiener, his fellow executive producers, the entire cast led by Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief and the amazing crew for all their outstanding work. We wish everyone the best going forward.”
According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, Xbox, Amblin TV, and 343 Industries will try to shop the series to other outlets.
“We deeply appreciate the millions of fans who propelled the ‘Halo’ series to be a global success and we remain committed to broadening the ‘Halo’ universe in different ways in the future,” 343 Industries said. “We are grateful to Amblin and Paramount for their partnership in bringing our expansive sci-fi universe to viewers around the world.”
Pablo Schreiber starred in the series as the iconic character Master Chief John-117, a genetically enhanced super soldier part of an elite group known as the Spartans. As the series begins, humanity is fighting a bloody war in the 26th century with the Covenant, a group of various alien races united under a shared religious fanaticism.
The cast of the series also included Natascha McElhone, Jen Taylor, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy, and Danny Sapani.
Kyle Killen and Steven Kane developed the series for television. Both were also executive producers and showrunners on the series in Season 1. David Wiener was named showrunner and executive producer for Season 2. Steven Spielberg, Justin Frank, and Daryl Falvey also executive produced via Amblin Television along with Otto Bathurst and Toby Leslie of One Big Picture, Scott Pennington of Chapter Eleven, and Kiki Wolfkill, Frank O’Connor and Bonnie Ross of 343 Industries. The series was produced by Showtime in association with 343 Industries, along with Amblin TV.
Thus ends the long and arduous road for the live-action adaptation of the games. “Halo” was originally intended to be adapted as a movie as early as 2005, with Neill Blomkamp attached to direct at one point. The project eventually morphed into a TV series, but it would still be nearly 10 more years before it finally made it to air.
From Variety US