Showtime’s Halo TV series has yet again hit another setback after director Rupert Wyatt announced his decision to exit his participation in the project. Scheduling issues are noted as the decision. It’s the latest in a long string of bad news for the TV adaptation of the popular Xbox shooter mascot.
Deadline reports that director Rupert Wyatt is stepping down from the Showtime Halo TV series. Wyatt was both director and executive producer on the project. This high-tier departure doesn’t instill any confidence in the Halo TV series which already became known as being in development hell.
Indeed, it has been a massive five years since audiences first heard from Microsoft that the tech and gaming giant was teaming up with Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg to bring their Xbox mascot on the small screen. This was announced during the unveiling of Microsoft’s then-nextgen console, the Xbox One.
The console launch and the months leading towards it were catastrophic for the gaming brand as Microsoft continuously managed to step from one PR nightmare into another. Industry sources who claimed Microsoft planned to demolish second-hand game purchases, an always-online gaming console and a general discrepancy between what Xbox gamers want from a new console and what Microsoft envisioned, led to a disastrous Xbox One launch.
A lot changed because of those decisions. The Xbox management received a shake-up. Phil Spencer took the reigns and realigned the Xbox One towards traditional console gaming, with success. Sadly, many projects that were unveiled during the launch however drowned under the bad PR for the system.
The Halo TV series was one of them. After years of radio silence, many assumed the project to be shelved entirely but Showtime and Microsoft promised otherwise. This year then, we finally received promising news from the TV adaptation. Steven Spielberg is supposedly still involved and production would start as early as 2019.
Today’s news of Rupert Wyatt’s departure will no doubt affect the production of the series. Showtime didn’t state who will replace Wyatt or if the production of the Halo TV series will be delayed.
