After losing director and executive producer Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) a couple of months ago, Showtime has found a new director for its highly anticipated Halo television series, with Robin Hood and Peaky Blinders director Otto Bathurst now set to helm the sci-fi video game adaptation.
Wyatt had to step away from the show due to a conflicting schedule after production got shifted. Despite the setback, 343 Industries has expressed confidence in the project and that it was moving at “a very rapid pace”. Now that Bathurst has been chosen as Wyatt’s replacement, the series will begin production early this year.
While plot details are being kept under wraps, Showtime has described the ten-episode Halo series as “an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant.” Halo will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure, and a richly imagined vision of the future. What we do know, however, is the game’s central hero Master Chief, or John-117, will feature in Showtime’s series.
The series is based upon the hit video game franchise that revolutionized first-person-shooters and online multiplayer gameplay, spawning five main games, several spin-offs and a couple live-action web series and the feature length Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. 343 Industries is currently working on the next game in the franchise, Halo Infinite, which does not yet have a release date.