If we’re being trustworthy, the “Halo” present might have been doomed from the beginning. What began a long time in the past in 2005 as a live-action “Halo” film 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 totally different factors. On the time, it appeared like a no brainer. “Halo” was the most important online game franchise on this planet — a phenomenon that hit the intersections of on-line gaming, “grownup” tradition, and basic nerdy fandom in simply the proper method that the title itself was virtually a stand-in for video video games as an idea.
However that was in 2005, 2006, 2007 — the height of the collection between the releases of “Halo 2” and “Halo 3.” For years after, the collection remained massively widespread, however the cultural zeitgeist that made it appear to be the following Hollywood hit light. By the point the film that turned a present lastly arrived on Paramount+ in 2022, the thought itself was operating on fumes.
It did not assist after all that the primary season acquired lukewarm critiques — a mixture of delicate reward for its ambition and manufacturing worth and excessive disdain from a sure subset of followers. The variation made main modifications to the character of Grasp Chief (Pablo Schreiber), the overarching story, and elements of the world. And but, regardless of all of these hurdles, “Halo” season 2 arrived in 2024 with a lot stronger critiques from each critics and viewers. Issues appeared to be trying 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, nicely, Halo itself. Sadly for followers, all of that momentum wasn’t sufficient to maintain the present going. Whereas an official cause was by no means given, excessive budgets and Paramount’s personal distinctive state of affairs might have each performed a task.
The Halo present was very costly to make
Paramount+
Today, it is onerous to piece collectively precise viewership figures for a lot of streaming collection. However going by the numbers we do have, “Halo” getting canceled doubtless wasn’t a easy matter of no person watching. In keeping with Nielsen figures shared by The Hollywood Reporter, “Halo” season 2 spent 5 weeks within the prime 10 streaming collection 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 lately. However given how costly “Halo” was to make, these 1.8 billion minutes might merely not have minimize it.
Stories put the price range for “Halo” season 1 anyplace from $10 million per episode (or $90 million for the total nine-episode season) to $200 million complete. Regardless of the right quantity, it doubtless did not shrink for season 2. It is also value noting that when “Halo” season 1 premiered, it was positioned as a serious promoting level for the then-still-new Paramount+ — just 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 cause for it underperforming. Extra doubtless, there was simply an excessive amount of driving on the mistaken 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, a scarcity of true hit standing, and new management coming in, “Halo” might have simply been within the mistaken place on the mistaken time.
May the Halo TV present come again?
Paramount+
When “Halo” was canceled in 2024, it was reported that Xbox, 343 Industries, and Amblin had hopes of shifting the collection elsewhere and preserving the story going. A yr 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 shifting onto different initiatives — the possibilities of “Halo” discovering a brand new house for season 3 appear principally useless.
It is a disgrace, particularly as a result of the collection was actually beginning to discover its footing in “Halo” season 2, profiting from its divergences from the core franchise lore whereas additionally paying increasingly more tribute to the issues followers actually love about “Halo.” Although it acquired a nasty rap from a sure phase of self-proclaimed superfans, it additionally did justice to lots of the video games’ motion and iconography, bringing a special timbre to modern-day big-budget sci-fi collection.
Sadly, Grasp Chief will not have an opportunity to complete the struggle this time round.
