Steven Spielberg’s ‘Halo’ Live-Action TV Series Is Coming to Showtime

Halo, the popular Xbox video game franchise, is coming to the small screen. Developed by Steven Spielberg, Halo has been picked up for a 10-episode first season at Showtime. It’s a live-action, scripted drama series that will begin production in 2019.

According to TheWrap, Halo will be produced by Showtime together with Microsoft/343 Industries and Spielberg’s Amblin Television. Halo fans should definitely look out for the upcoming series as it’s in competent hands. Kyle Killen will serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer with Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) directing and executive producing.

In a statement, Showtime President David Nevins called Halo the pay-cable network’s “most ambitious series ever,” saying that they “expect audiences who have been anticipating it for years to be rewarded.”

The Halo TV series was first announced in 2013. Gary Levine, President of Programming at showtime. said during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour (via Tv Guide) that the series “is absolutely still in development, still moving forward and I am encouraged by what we’ve seen so far.” He also added that it will definitely satisfy the fans of the video game, at the same time complementing the drama audiences of Showtime.

The video game franchise debuted in November 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved and sold more than 65 Million copies. The Halo TV series isn’t the first small-screen adaptation, though. A web series was released in 2012, titled Halo: Forward Unto Dawn, followed by Halo: Nightfall in 2014, starring Luke Cage’s Mike Colter.

The TV series will follow the storyline of the original video games and revolve around the epic 26th Century battle between humans and the alien threat known as “The Covenant.” This adaptation will surely weave personal stories with action, adventure and a richly-imagined vision of the future.