The Halo TV series apparently has more drama behind the scenes than the video game-based series may actually show on screen when it finally reaches audiences next year. The series has been in the works since 2014, with a number of changes in directors, networks and even the length of its still-awaited first season. And the latest change is apparently the departure of its latest showrunner.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the two showrunners currently bringing the show to TV won’t be around if there’s a second season. Steven Kane, currently helming the show’s creation in Budapest, will reportedly leave the show for good once things are wrapped up later this summer. That comes on the heels of the series’ first showrunner also leaving in 2019.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that original showrunner Kyle Killen (Lone Star, Awake) quietly departed Halo in late 2019, months after he asked that the Microsoft/343 Industries, Amblin Television and CBS Studios-produced show to hire a second showrunner to oversee production in Budapest so that he could focus on stateside efforts, including scripts and editing. Kane (The Last Ship, The Closer) was hired in March 2019 and has been on the ground overseeing filming in Budapest for the past few years. Kane will exit Halo after he wraps production.
The Paramount+ series had originally been intended for an entirely different network, with Showtime picking the project up before it was shuffled to the Viacom-owned streaming service ahead of its rebrand from CBS All Access. The show is reportedly still in line for a 2022 release, but if it sees a second season, there will apparently be a search for a new showrunner to take the reigns of the Microsoft gaming franchise’s TV edition.
We’ll have to wait and see if we actually get to play Halo Infinite before we see what Master Chief does on TV. Here’s hoping both don’t see any further delays.
[via THR]