20 Failed Movie Plans That'll Ruin Your Day
1. Peter Jackson's Abandoned Halo Franchise
It remains truly baffling that the Halo video game franchise has never translated properly to the screen, despite the efforts of many great filmmakers. The recent TV show, cancelled after two seasons, was a real mess, and every time someone has tried to do it justice, it's failed to materialised.
The closest anyone ever came was Peter Jackson, who, fresh off the success of his classic Lord of the Rings trilogy, set his sights on Halo as the next great blockbuster, enlisting the help sci-fi auteur Neill Blomkamp to direct.
Unfortunately, the project couldn't get moving. Budget disputes, production delays, and disagreements between game developer Microsoft and film studio 20th Century Fox saw that Jackson never got a chance to bring his keen eye for worldbuilding and affecting drama to a franchise that, quite frankly, would have soared with him in the driver's seat.
On the plus side, many of the props and set pieces designed for the film were utilised by Blomkamp on his next project, the stunning District 9. So at least this missed opportunity has something close to a happy ending. Still, what a loss!