@Fonic:
I actually think Kotaku is a pretty safe place for Halo haters, not that I am one. I'm just not prepared to call Halo's story anything remotely close to good.

TheEngineer: Rocking the Goggles

@TheEngineer: Rocking the Goggles: I forgive you because it's Halo. When the fans get here, I'll try and distract them while you run.

Fonic

I'm sorry, I just seem to be incredibly bitter today.

TheEngineer: Rocking the Goggles

Also, John? Way to somehow force even more generic cliches into the Halo storyline.

TheEngineer: Rocking the Goggles

@armchairnixon: wishes he had Xbox Live...: What? no. I was referring to the fact that he wrote the plot for Gears of Wars.

Polywhirl

What I don't understand is how Hollywood studios say Halo 3 hurt their box office revenues because of it's popularity (which is bullshit because movies and video games aren't really competitors), yet they are unwilling to make a Halo movie. How do you not make a movie about a video game so popular that it out grosses movies? Also, if you're going to fail at the box office, don't make shitty excuses. Just admit your a bitch and your movie tanked because people aren't interested in seeing an Emo Peter Parker dance.

TheEngineer: Rocking the Goggles

@A_Knothole_Resident: Well he is 41 by the time the first Halo game begins. And if they stick with the timelines establish in the novels he was only 14 when Harvest was attacked. So that is a whole bunch of time of then can choose to either skip or just do a sweet montage.

Foggynotion

@Polywhirl: You can only get so much characterization in a one sentence summary.

armchairnixon: wishes he had Xbox Live...

@kylenalepa: Actually I believe they made the spartan program to fight some sort of insurgency. I think they were just lucky when the covenant came and the spartan program was already made.

Treecubed

so wait, this is a kid??

A_Knothole_Resident

I have read all the books, and I am usually not one to do that. I must say that they are quite enjoyable; it is nice to see a world fleshed out that you usually experience just as Master Chief in battle.

His origin story is pretty good. He is kidnapped at an early age and undergoes intense training, but the highlight it the genetic augmentations that they force the kids to go under at the age of 14. A good percentage of the kids died, and many others were left crippled or disfigured. I think subtexts like this could allow some good narrative and creative decisions beyond just the obvious ass kicking fight scenes.

Just my two cents, as a fan of the stories of Eric Nylund.

Foggynotion

Lets shoot him, quick....

Flawless101

fall of reach was a pretty decent time waster on a 5 hour flight from vancouver to toronto.

but is it that different from ender's game/starship troopers?

relax_guy

FINALLY!

I never understood the want to re-write a script when the novels have everything a great movie would have.

StopTheOncoming

Sounds good to me, but the timeline seems off. Wasn't first contact with the Covenant a decent time before John got enrolled in the SPARTAN program (See Halo: Contact Harvest)?

kylenalepa

Okay....?
So some 5 year old made a script for a Halo Movie trilogy based off of the games?
Just plain bizarre.

And yes, I know he's not literally five. I'm just referring to his literary talent.
John Freeman has more characterization than his stories.

Polywhirl

Yea pretty much sounds like the novel. Though they didn't really kidnap the kid in the novel.

Kyle81

@diablofreak: We can only pray, diablofreak. We can only pray.

mackincheese

"GALACTIC WARRIOR, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"SIR, FINISHING THIS FIGHT!"

ManjiKengo

Where's Uwe Boll? will he be available for this one?

diablofreak

That was too boring for my mind to assimilate. Shitty Halo merchandise or sightings of Master Chief on toast (and other tedious crap of that ilk) ftl.

ErskinPig

@astrixzero: The hordes of people who gobble up the Halo Pulp novels?
So yeah, some people actually like those crap stereotypes.

Either way, this movie will suck.

Polywhirl

@TheEngineer: Rocking the Goggles: Well who actually plays any shooters for their story?

astrixzero

that book was a ripoff of ender's game

TheNocturnalSun

i would see it, i loved the first book.

dragonsword

So... Master Chief is John Conner?

WontonWonder

Please tell me his last name be smith. Generic name for a generic game!

ryivanV2

That sorta sounds like Samus' origins.

I'm still in total support of Samus and Chief partnering up in some insane crossover. Haloid had part of it right. >_>

Entegy

@Polywhirl: Have you read the "Halo Pulp novels?" Good stuff, man (err... Fall of Reach is anyway, I still haven't gotten around to the others but I hear they're not as good). I don't understand all this hate about the new direction. In fact, since even before they announced the movie I've thought that an adaptation of Fall of Reach was THE best option. Although the word "loosely" is discouraging.

Spiffyness

The books are actually pretty good and the stories are very enjoyable unlike in the games where the story is told crappily and ends up sucking. I think Fall of Reach might work well as a movie but it depends on how loose of an adaptation loose is for the guy...

Samos42

@OmegaX123:
Ha, really? Figures.

@marmidukestank:
So do I. US devs are obsessed with trilogies. I love how they plan them out way ahead of time, even when there's no guarantee the first one will be good (looking at you Too Human).

TheEngineer: Hates the UE3

I hate the obsession with trilogies being made out of ideas that barely warrant a single film.

marmidukestank

@TheEngineer: Rocking the Goggles: His name actually is John, canonically... [en.wikipedia.org] - the very first line explicitly states: "Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, commonly called Master Chief and John alternatively" (transcribed for anyone interested but too lazy to click the link, lol)

OmegaX123

@TheEngineer: Hates the UE3: At least they're ambitious. Oh wait, I meant greedy.

Captain Impulse

about a six year-old kid, named John, who's kidnapped by the USC "then brutally trained to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117".

Does he then get outpaced by a superior engineered from birth model and dumped on a junkyard planet, before redeeming himself by killing the superior models in a violent insurgency to save the native squatters?

aldo_14

to anyone who thought halo had a good story they didnt read the manual where it states that master cheif is a master all weapons and is super tough (im sure they had a contest to see whos kid can write a cuter story for mr chief) second the three main empires deally is just ripping off starcraft. human=terrans convenant=protoss and flood=zerg but to be fair starcraft probably took thier shit from starship troopers of some other classic scifi novel.

JunkersRoyale

Halo is a cool guy. He fights aliens and doesn't afraid of anyone. Pew pew pew!

mind in rewind

I think it would be pretty interesting. Particularly if they left in the plot point that the Spartan program was originally approved because the UNSC was fighting a Civil War and not a war with the Covenant.

DannoHung

@Kyle81: What else would you call it? They took someones kid and replaced him with a flash clone.

mikecoscia

@mikecoscia: The military asked him at least.

Wanna get kidnapped? Sure

Kyle81

Sounds almost like some mix-up of Soldier and RobotJox.

two thumbs down.

Soldier was pretty decent though, if cheesy.

ThatGuyOverThere

You can never trust that University of Southern California, can you?

SonicNirvana

@Kyle81: Yeah, they replaced him with a flash clone that would die after a few years form some bazaar illness if my memory right.

All jokes aside, the Halo Novels are pretty good, except The Flood witch is just a Novelization of the first game and it Progresses SLOWLY, and you kinda knew what was gonna happen next the entire time.

Get them here [www.amazon.com]
Here [www.amazon.com]
and Here [www.amazon.com]

Its not a bad story, and worth picking up, If not buying it then at least go to your local library (there still around ya know?) and and check them out.

Neoistheone2000

@Neoistheone2000: Actually, I only find Eric Nylund's Halo novels to be good, the Flood is a novelization of the first game from several POV's, and as much as I like Covenant Lore, it made the book just crawl along, although there was a slight element of uncertainty.

And with regards to Contact Harvest, IMO, that was a part of history better left untold.

D4RKH3ART

Fall of Reach was a pretty enjoyable read. Would probably make a good film too.

Johnzim

So if I get a SWG card and write some unsolicited fanfic, will Kotaku post about me too?!?!

stranger

@stranger: If you're also writing major hollywood motion pictures like Beattie is then yeah, sure, why not.

Luke Plunkett

@aldo_14:

Damn you! I was hoping to be the first one on this thread to draw parallels between this "story" and the mind-numbing shittiness that was "Soldier". Well, with any luck, the movie will be bad enough to drown the Halo franchise in the muck it's been dragging the games industry through for the past seven years.

Oh, and if Hollywood is watching this thread, I have the best idea evar! Since Master Chief is a space "Marine" (or something), and his name is John, you absolutely MUST make the right casting decision for the lead role, the future of the action film, thespian extraordinaire John "The Marine" Cena! Just think - you'd have the six-to-ten year-old market NAILED!

RubyMars

Enders Game with guns?

" . . . kid, named John(Ender), who's kidnapped by the USC "then brutally trained (Battle school) to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117". The movie then deals with humanity's first contact with the Covenant (he Buggers). . ."

I swear, this Halo script (and it's garbage novels ) sounds like such a rip-off of Enders Game.

HarkMammil

@TheNocturnalSun:
Ender was a rip-off of other classic novels, except in sci-fi level. Halo just takes it to a kick-ass level.

@JunkersRoyale:
True-
UNSC: Terrans
Covenant: Protoss
Flood: Zerg
You do have to remember that these are general cliches in every sci-fi story, so any should be surprised.

@ Everyone Else, a Halo movie would kick ass, if done properly. It has a storyline and action that would make John Mclane cry. We also want a break from the "action-movie" which is taking the genius of Spiderman 1 and 2 into a college kid having his spider-period with black fluid everywhere.

LaNcEleCtriKuTion

@ErskinPig: we can only hope that the movie beacomes: Halo- Crotchless Underwear and Aliens

halos1994