It was announced today that Neill Blomkamp (who?!?!) is set to direct the feature film adaptation of the popular XBox videogame Halo, to be produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh under their WingNut Films banner for Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox.
Blomkamp will be making his directorial debut on the film as he looks to expand on his filmography which currently only holds visual effects credits for shows such as “Smallville,” “Dark Angel” and “Stargate SG-1” as well as some work on 3000 Miles to Graceland. He however has done some interesting commercials and short films, which are undoubetdly the reason he was chosen based on their nature. More on that at the end of this article
Word around the Halo production had not been good as of late as all the talk of the film had seemed to die down, but things seem ready to go now as the film is currently targeted for a summer 2008 worldwide release. Halo will be shot in Wellington, New Zealand, and will make use of the full range of Jackson’s state-of-the-art production and post-production facilities there, including Weta, Stone Street Studios, and Park Road Post.
“As a gaming fan, I’m excited to bring Halo’s premise, action and settings to the screen with all the specificity and reality today’s technology can provide,” said Jackson. “Fran and I are intrigued by the unique challenges this project offers, and we’re delighted to be working again with our friends at Universal, and with our new ones at Fox and Microsoft. With Neill on board, I’m even more excited by the potential of this project.
Based on the videogame, Halo takes place on a mysterious alien ring-world. Packed with combat, Halo will have you battling on foot, in vehicles, inside and outdoors with Alien and Human weaponry. Your objective: to uncover Halo’s horrible secrets and destroy mankind’s sworn enemy, the Covenant.
Take a peek below to see one of Blomkamp’s commercials and one of his short films.
