Why Paramount+ Canceled The Stay-Motion Sequence
If we’re being sincere, the “Halo” present could have been doomed from the beginning. What began a long time in the past in 2005 as a live-action “Halo” film went by way of quite a few iterations, with everybody from Alex Garland and Neill Blomkamp to Guillermo del Toro and Steven Spielberg hooked up at totally different factors. On the time, it seemed like a no brainer. “Halo” was the largest online game franchise on this planet — a phenomenon that hit the intersections of on-line gaming, “grownup” tradition, and basic nerdy fandom in simply the appropriate means that the title itself was virtually a stand-in for video video games as an idea.
However that was in 2005, 2006, 2007 — the height of the collection between the releases of “Halo 2” and “Halo 3.” For years after, the collection remained massively fashionable, however the cultural zeitgeist that made it appear to be the subsequent Hollywood hit light. By the point the film that turned a present lastly arrived on Paramount+ in 2022, the concept itself was working on fumes.
It did not assist in fact that the primary season obtained lukewarm critiques — a mixture of delicate reward for its ambition and manufacturing worth and excessive disdain from a sure subset of followers. The variation made main adjustments to the character of Grasp Chief (Pablo Schreiber), the overarching story, and features of the world. And but, regardless of all of these hurdles, “Halo” season 2 arrived in 2024 with a lot stronger critiques from each critics and viewers. Issues gave the impression to be trying up, with the sophomore chapter pulling in much more key arcs from the video games just like the Fall of Attain and the arrival on, effectively, Halo itself. Sadly for followers, all of that momentum wasn’t sufficient to maintain the present going. Whereas an official purpose was by no means given, excessive budgets and Paramount’s personal distinctive state of affairs could have each performed a job.
The Halo present was very costly to make
As of late, it is onerous to piece collectively actual viewership figures for a lot of streaming collection. However going by the numbers we do have, “Halo” getting canceled doubtless wasn’t a easy matter of no one watching. In accordance with Nielsen figures shared by The Hollywood Reporter, “Halo” season 2 spent 5 weeks within the prime 10 streaming collection chart and picked up over 1.8 billion minutes of viewing in that very same time. How does that fare within the grand scheme? Once more, viewership is much less and fewer of a constant metric as of late. However given how costly “Halo” was to make, these 1.8 billion minutes could merely not have reduce it.
Stories put the price range for “Halo” season 1 wherever from $10 million per episode (or $90 million for the complete nine-episode season) to $200 million whole. Regardless of the right quantity, it doubtless did not shrink for season 2. It is also price noting that when “Halo” season 1 premiered, it was positioned as a significant promoting level for the then-still-new Paramount+ — much like how “The Mandalorian” was positioned to assist promote Disney+ early on. Whereas longtime followers of the video games will say the present misplaced its viewers by altering up the canon, the period of time that handed between the pop-culture pinnacle of “Halo” and the present’s premiere makes {that a} much less convincing purpose for it underperforming. Extra doubtless, there was simply an excessive amount of using on the improper present.
Lastly, there’s the matter of Paramount itself. “Halo” season 2 ended simply a few months earlier than the now-completed merger of Paramount and Skydance started. In actual fact, the present’s cancellation was introduced on July 18, 2024, lower than two weeks after the merger plans went public. With a giant price range, a scarcity of true hit standing, and new management coming in, “Halo” could have simply been within the improper place on the improper time.
Might the Halo TV present come again?
When “Halo” was canceled in 2024, it was reported that Xbox, 343 Industries, and Amblin had hopes of shifting the collection elsewhere and protecting the story going. A 12 months on, there’s been no phrase. Sadly, because of the sheer logistics of a live-action style present of this scale — units and props, manufacturing home windows, to not point out stars shifting onto different tasks — the possibilities of “Halo” discovering a brand new dwelling for season 3 appear mainly useless.
It is a disgrace, particularly as a result of the collection was actually beginning to discover its footing in “Halo” season 2, profiting from its divergences from the core franchise lore whereas additionally paying increasingly tribute to the issues followers really love about “Halo.” Although it acquired a nasty rap from a sure phase of self-proclaimed superfans, it additionally did justice to a whole lot of the video games’ motion and iconography, bringing a unique timbre to modern-day big-budget sci-fi collection.
Sadly, Grasp Chief will not have an opportunity to complete the struggle this time round.
