Halo TV series confirmed for a 2020 release
Showtime president and CEO describes show as "[our] most ambitious series ever"
Premium American cable channel Showtime has confirmed a release window for the Halo television series.
Five years since the series was first teased during the infamous Microsoft E3 presser that resulted in fan backlash against the heightened focus on TV with the Xbox One, a 2020 release has been confirmed.
As reported by IGN, Showtime's president of programming Gary Levine described the series is an "enormous undertaking", while president and CEO David Nevins said it was "[our] most ambitious series ever".
"It took us a long time to get the script but we felt like we had something that was really interesting and felt like it belonged on Showtime in terms of its character depth, and it's gonna be a big show," said Nevins during a panel at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
"We made a conscious decision to hire a writer not known for sci-fi and not known for big battle movies, because that's already baked into the Halo franchise and we will service that.
"But we also wanted to ensure that we were getting beneath the formidable armor of the Spartans and really getting inside the team drama so it felt like it belonged on Showtime."
While the extent of veteran director Steven Spielberg's involvement is unknown, he remains at least tangentially attached to the project via his production company Amblin Television.
Production on the ten-episode first season has not yet started but Nevins praised writer and showrunner Kylie Killen for creating a "brilliant, expansive world".