Latino Review got the scoop on this little gem — all news is good news for the Halo Movie, which is currently on hiatus. This has been announced on April fool’s day — so be wary. Though they do boldly say “this is not an April fool’s”:
In an effort to get the ball rolling again, I just learned that big time G.I. JOE screenwriter STUART BEATTIE has written a spec screenplay called HALO: FALL OF REACH, and it’s based on the best selling novel of the same name by Eric Nylund.
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A spec screenplay is when you write a script on your own without being paid a dime for it in the hopes that it could sell
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Stuart was commissioned to write SPY HUNTER, SPLINTER CELL, and GEARS OF WAR for various studios. His G.I. JOE script is the one that got Paramount to greenlight the $170 million dollar movie which is shooting now.
HALO: FALL OF REACH is a labor of love by Beattie in the hopes of finally getting the movie made.
The Premise of the script:
The script is, first and foremost, a character-driven story about a soldier named John who was kidnapped or “conscripted” by the UNSC when he was just six years old, and then brutally trained to become an élite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117.
The script then takes us through the horrific first contact with the Covenant hordes on the doomed colony world of Harvest, and then climaxes with the spectacular fall of the UNSC forward base on Reach, during which every other Spartan is slaughtered.
The script also gives detailed outlines for the second movie, HALO: RISE OF THE FLOOD, which takes place entirely on the Halo ringworld, and the third and final movie, HALO: BATTLE FOR EARTH, which roughly follows the events of Halo 3, the game.
One cool advantage of this first script is that (like the shark in JAWS) you don’t even see the Covenant until halfway through the movie. And because all the creatures are CGI creations, this cuts the budget down dramatically and makes a first Halo movie that much more viable. For Halo fans, it’s like the prequel that provides all the answers to questions they’ve thought about for years. For non Halo fans, it’s an exciting action movie that provides a clear, concise introduction to a world five hundred years in the future with relatable characters and a terrifying alien menace.
Comments 4 Responses to “Stuart Beattie writes a Halo Treatment”
I saw something similar on kotaku on April fools day, only they basically said “this is what the Halo movie will be (April Fools!),” so I think it is definitely true there is a spec script based on Fall of Reach (hence “this is not an April fool’s”) but the chances Bungie/Weta have any intent to use it are slim.
Fall of Reach is the name of a Halo book.
I personally think that the films studios are really stupid for refusing to finance a Halo film. It makes no sense, Halo 3 sold over $300 millions worth. The film (with the script above) would cost, what? £75 Million? It would easily get the money back and the film studios would make LOADS. Also why don’t Microsoft finance it? they’ve got enough money and if they financed it they’d get all the profit.
Wanna know what’s a terrible idea? Making the first movie about Reach therby not making enough time to chronologicaly end the story like the games did. If you want to show the fall of Reach so bad, fine, make a prequel about it just like the novel did(which makes it even better because it’s based off a book). Just don’t screw it up so bad that you have to end the last movie before the ending of Halo 3.
[…] Review have the exclusive on some concept are released to coincide with Stuart Beattie’s Halo: Fall of Reach treatment which acts as a prequel to the Halo video game series. The image is by conceptual artist […]