Halo in the Dreamworks?

Following one of the most bitter partnerships gone to Hell in the history of Hollywood, between Universal and Fox, it looks like Spielberg’s Dreamworks is in the lead for a chance to appease the Halo gods at Microsoft and make a movie that sticks to the canon of the novelizations. Most industry insiders are aware that Universal and Fox share anger towards each other regarding the doomed attempt to partner on the release of a film based on the popular series of games. Ultimately, Universal fronted $12 million in screenwriting and producing fees only to have Fox walk out of the deal, which collapsed as a result.

Now Dreamworks is avoiding the headache of having to reimburse Universal its $12 million by going in an entirely different direction than the previous studio intended. NY Magazine has an eye-opening expose on the particulars of the deal at their site, but here’s the gist of it. Spielberg and company are in the running. Peter Jackson, Universal, and Fox, the original players on the doomed project, are all out. And if all goes well, you Halo nerds will see a big screen adaptation sometime soon.