If we’re being sincere, the “Halo” present could have been doomed from the beginning. What began many years in the past in 2005 as a live-action “Halo” movie went by way of quite a few iterations, with everybody from Alex Garland and Neill Blomkamp to Guillermo del Toro and Steven Spielberg connected at completely different factors. On the time, it seemed like a no brainer. “Halo” was the most important online game franchise on the planet — a phenomenon that hit the intersections of on-line gaming, “grownup” tradition, and traditional nerdy fandom in simply the best means that the identify itself was virtually a stand-in for video video games as an idea.
However that was in 2005, 2006, 2007 — the height of the sequence between the releases of “Halo 2” and “Halo 3.” For years after, the sequence remained massively well-liked, however the cultural zeitgeist that made it seem like the following Hollywood hit light. By the point the film that turned a present lastly arrived on Paramount+ in 2022, the concept itself was operating on fumes.
It did not assist in fact that the primary season obtained lukewarm evaluations — a mixture of gentle reward for its ambition and manufacturing worth and excessive disdain from a sure subset of followers. The difference made main adjustments to the character of Grasp Chief (Pablo Schreiber), the overarching story, and facets of the world. And but, regardless of all of these hurdles, “Halo” season 2 arrived in 2024 with a lot stronger evaluations from each critics and viewers. Issues appeared to be wanting up, with the sophomore chapter pulling in much more key arcs from the video games just like the Fall of Attain and the arrival on, properly, Halo itself. Sadly for followers, all of that momentum wasn’t sufficient to maintain the present going. Whereas an official purpose was by no means given, excessive budgets and Paramount’s personal distinctive state of affairs could have each performed a task.
The Halo present was very costly to make
Today, it is onerous to piece collectively precise viewership figures for a lot of streaming sequence. However going by the numbers we do have, “Halo” getting canceled seemingly wasn’t a easy matter of no one watching. In line with Nielsen figures shared by The Hollywood Reporter, “Halo” season 2 spent 5 weeks within the prime 10 streaming sequence chart and picked up over 1.8 billion minutes of viewing in that very same time. How does that fare within the grand scheme? Once more, viewership is much less and fewer of a constant metric nowadays. However given how costly “Halo” was to make, these 1.8 billion minutes could merely not have lower it.
Reviews put the price range for “Halo” season 1 wherever from $10 million per episode (or $90 million for the total nine-episode season) to $200 million whole. Regardless of the appropriate quantity, it seemingly did not shrink for season 2. It is also price noting that when “Halo” season 1 premiered, it was positioned as a significant promoting level for the then-still-new Paramount+ — much like how “The Mandalorian” was positioned to assist promote Disney+ early on. Whereas longtime followers of the video games will say the present misplaced its viewers by altering up the canon, the period of time that handed between the pop-culture pinnacle of “Halo” and the present’s premiere makes {that a} much less convincing purpose for it underperforming. Extra seemingly, there was simply an excessive amount of driving on the fallacious present.
Lastly, there’s the matter of Paramount itself. “Halo” season 2 ended simply a few months earlier than the now-completed merger of Paramount and Skydance started. In actual fact, the present’s cancellation was introduced on July 18, 2024, lower than two weeks after the merger plans went public. With a giant price range, an absence of true hit standing, and new management coming in, “Halo” could have simply been within the fallacious place on the fallacious time.
May the Halo TV present come again?
When “Halo” was canceled in 2024, it was reported that Xbox, 343 Industries, and Amblin had hopes of transferring the sequence elsewhere and protecting the story going. A 12 months on, there’s been no phrase. Sadly, as a result of sheer logistics of a live-action style present of this scale — units and props, manufacturing home windows, to not point out stars transferring onto different tasks — the possibilities of “Halo” discovering a brand new residence for season 3 appear mainly lifeless.
It is a disgrace, particularly as a result of the sequence was actually beginning to discover its footing in “Halo” season 2, benefiting from its divergences from the core franchise lore whereas additionally paying an increasing number of tribute to the issues followers actually love about “Halo.” Although it acquired a foul rap from a sure section of self-proclaimed superfans, it additionally did justice to loads of the video games’ motion and iconography, bringing a special timbre to modern-day big-budget sci-fi sequence.
Sadly, Grasp Chief will not have an opportunity to complete the struggle this time round.
