Film website Latino Review reports (via GameSpot) that Stuart Beattie, the gentleman who penned Pirates of the Caribbean and is currently composing screenplays for Gears of War and Spy Hunter, is also writing a speculative script for a Halo movie.
Reportedly based on Eric Nyland's best-selling novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, Latino Review's undisclosed source revealed the following details:
The script is, first and foremost, a character-driven story about a soldier named John who was kidnapped or "conscripted" by the UNSC when he was just six years old, and then brutally trained to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117.
The script then takes us through the horrific first contact with the Covenant hordes on the doomed colony world of Harvest, and then climaxes with the spectacular fall of the UNSC forward base on Reach, during which every other Spartan is slaughtered.
The script also gives detailed outlines for the second movie, HALO: RISE OF THE FLOOD, which takes place entirely on the Halo ringworld, and the third and final movie, HALO: BATTLE FOR EARTH, which roughly follows the events of Halo 3, the game.
One cool advantage of this first script is that (like the shark in JAWS) you don't even see the Covenant until halfway through the movie. And because all the creatures are CGI creations, this cuts the budget down dramatically and makes a first Halo movie that much more viable. For Halo fans, it's like the prequel that provides all the answers to questions they've thought about for years. For non Halo fans, it's an exciting action movie that provides a clear, concise introduction to a world five hundred years in the future with relatable characters and a terrifying alien menace.
Although Latino Review's news posting is dated April 1st, the text was repeatedly prefaced with assertions that the script is not an April Fools' joke, and since this isn't the first time the site has reported on the Halo movie we'll treat this report as an excellent rumor instead of intentional fabrication.
Even if confirmed, the script is still speculative, meaning that Beattie is not be currently employed by producers to write it and is instead offering it as alternative to whatever script is currently under consideration.
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