Variety report that Microsoft have employed Alex Garland (28 Days Later & The Beach) to write the script for a Halo movie.
The route of employing the scriptwriter themselves (instead of simply licensing the rights out to one of the major movie studios) is reportedly due to Microsoft's awareness of the damage a shoddy movie could do to the Halo franchise:
As nearly every producer in town expressed interest in the title, it became clear that Microsoft wasn't interested in licensing it out of fear that a poorly received adaptation similar to "Final Fantasy" or "Super Mario Bros." could hurt the lucrative franchise.
Instead, those inquiring about a license found out that Microsoft decided it would develop its own script and shop it to studios once satisfied.
That's a highly unusual move for a tech company such as Microsoft, which has published videogames but has never before gone into the business of producing films.
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Alex Garland on IMDb.com
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