Neill Blomkamp. That name should sound very familiar to both movie-goers and Halo fans that wished a Halo movie would have been made back when Halo 3 was just getting launched. Neill Blomkamp is responsible for both District 9 and the Matt Damon-starred Elysium. Both were good films, but they aren’t where Neill got his start in the US. Originally from South Africa, Neill was tapped to help direct the Halo movie that was in talks back then, which also carried famed producer Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit). The Halo movie fell through, but not before Neill put together a little snippet to show what he could do with a Halo movie. Halo “Landfall” was the project (http://youtu.be/e5dqltyVoQE) and it dropped right before Halo 3 came out. The short film was a little skirmish between Covenant and humans on Earth just before Master Chief returns home after the events in Halo 2.
Neill Blomkamp is now rumored to be in the process of signing on for the coming Halo TV series pilot episode. No word on whether Neill will continue to work with the show or not. Typically, a pilot episode it put together and then the studio responsible for the project determines if they have “it”. Since the Halo TV series is going to be a real thing and will be put together, it stands to reason that if Microsoft likes what they see, perhaps they’ll try to nab Neill for the TV series long term. This also means that the Halo TV series could air as soon as this fall, though that might be a little ambitious. If most of the other pre-production steps have already been taken, filming the episodes can be done in just a couple of months (depending on the length of the series).
It should also be mentioned that Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List) is also signed on for the project, and Spielberg is known for his directing chops too. Will this be a co-directed deal? Not likely. Perhaps Microsoft wanted Neill to be around given some of his background. No additional information is available at this time, but it’s exciting to finally hear a little bit more about this project.
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