Spielberg in for Halo movie rights?

It is being rumoured that acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Spielberg could be preparing a swoop for the Halo movie rights, potentially resurrecting what has been a long and turbulent history for the silver screen adaptation of the franchise.

Vulture reports that DreamWorks hopes to base its film on the novelisations of the series rather than the games. To base a project on what could be seen as ‘low-brow’ material seems a little strange on the surface, but in doing so the studio could dodge the complicated legal situation surrounding Universal Pictures’ and 20th Century Fox’s involvement.

The renewed appetite for a Halo movie is perhaps not surprising considering the recent success of Xbox 360 shooter Halo: Reach. The game sold 300k in the UK in its first 24 hours alone, totting up global sales of $200m in the process.

However, the stuttering history of Microsoft’s Halo movie project is a big turn off for studios, particularly as millions have already been ploughed into the idea with nothing to show for it. At one stage even Hollywood darling Peter Jackson, of Lord of the Rings fame, was involved.

In March of this year Bungie re-asserted that it’s willing to bet that it’s not a matter of if, just when” a Halo movie will eventually be released.