Master Chief not starring in Halo movie?

When news of a Halo feature film first broke in 2005, gamers' thoughts turned to an epic sci-fi action film following the iconic Master Chief in his quest to protect mankind from the encroaching forces of the alien Covenant. Although the film has reportedly gone in and out of limbo since that time, it appears that such a story about the Master Chief was never going to be told, even if the film had been made.

Speaking to N'Gai Croal for a Newsweek article that was every bit as aborted as the Halo film, Bungie writing director Joseph Staten briefly drew back the conceptual curtain on the project and explained how the Master Chief would be integrated into the story. Given that the character in the games is essentially a blank slate and his face is never revealed, the writers felt it would be difficult to have him carry the film as the protagonist.

"In the film," Staten explained, "the other characters begin to comment on Master Chief's anonymity, like 'Who is he?' and 'What's his story?' He becomes a really wonderful source of mystery, a sort of anonymous problem solver. So we definitely worked on that. In the final version of the script the Master Chief was certainly absolutely critical to the film, but there were other characters around him which carried most of it, that did most of the emotional heavy lifting. The Master Chief was there in support of their story."

For more from Staten, check out Croal's expanded interview with the Halo scribe.