Summary
Paramount’sHaloTV show has been canceled after two seasons, and while this is sad news for some fans of the franchise, it actually makes these other two video game adaptations even more impressive. For the longest time, video game adaptations had a reputation for being notoriously bad, especially so when it comes to live-action video game adaptations. However, recent works likeDetective PikachuandSonic the Hedgehoghaveproven that the video game adaptation curse is broken, although theHaloTV show proves that not every shot at adapting a beloved video game franchise is a guaranteed hit.
When Paramount first announced that they were making a live-action TV show based onHalo, excitement went through the roof. However, upon the release ofHaloseason 1, reviews were pretty negative, with fans pointing at alterations from the source material and an uninteresting story as reasons for the show’s failure.Haloseason 2 improved things slightly, butParamount still canceledHaloahead of season 3, with poor critical reception, fan backlash, and the massive budget that the show warranted all being likely factors inHalo’s demise. Thus,Haloproves how difficult video game adaptations are.
Halo Season 3: Cancelation & Everything We Know
The blockbuster adaptation of Halo on Paramount+ was on shaky footing since it first season, and now the series has been canceled before season 3.
Halo’s Cancelation Makes The Last Of Us & Fallout’s Successes More Impressive
They Succeeded Despite The Hurdles
Even after two seasons,Halocouldn’t survive, with the show’s cancelation makingThe Last of UsandFallout’s successes more impressive.Halo’s budgetary problems and struggles to adapt its source material show that, even though some video game adaptations have managed to get it right, it is still far from easy. Video game adaptations are even harder when it comes to making multi-season shows, asHalohas to have the money and writing to create a massive space saga that faithfully adapts the games while also bringing in enough fans to warrant its cost.
The Last of UsandFalloutboth were faced with these same challenges, but unlikeHalo, they managed to become massive hits. Both the HBO and Amazon Prime Video series were able to garner praise from fans of the original games as well as new viewers, with them both becoming some of the most popular shows on their respective platforms. Although both shows only have one season as of the writing of this article,The Last of UsandFalloutwere both successful enough to warrant a second season, although unlikeHalofans are excited for these continuations.
Falloutseason 2 andThe Last of Usseason 2 are in development.
Halo’s Cancelation Confirms A Harsh Reality About Video Game Adaptations
After two seasons, Halo has officially been axed by Paramount, and the show’s cancelation uncovers a deeper truth about video game adaptations.
Halo Is A Reminder Of How Difficult Adapting Popular Video Games Is
They Aren’t Easy Despite Examples Of Successes
The failure ofHalois a tragedy, but it is also a reminder of how difficult adapting a popular video game is. Although theHaloTV show is far from the worst video game adaptation, it hearkens back to a bygone era of constant failed video game movies. Fans of video game franchises likeResident Evil,Assassin’s Creed,Prince of Persia, and more have seen the beloved games fall apart during adaptation, with most of these failures being due to production companies being scared that a straightforward adaptation won’t be commercially viable.
Halofell into many of these same trappings, with thechanges made toHalo’s video game lorebeing one of the most commonly cited issues that fans had with the show. TheHaloshow fundamentally misunderstood some core aspects of the franchise’s appeal. For example, Master Chief is frequently seen taking his helmet off in the show, with the character’s faceless nature from the video games being one of the defining aspects ofHalo. Things like this, as well as a plethora of smaller changes, plagued theHaloshow, disappointing fans but still being too weird to draw in unfamiliar viewers.
What The Last Of Us & Fallout Did Better Than Halo
They Took Their Approaches In A Better Way
AlthoughThe Last of UsandFalloutboth took different approaches to adapting their source material, they took their respective routes much better than theHaloTV show. HBO’sThe Last of Usis an almost beat-for-beat adaptation of the video game story, with the source material being praised as one of the best stories in video game history.The Last of Usstuck immensely close to the games, and the changes that it did make came in the form of fleshing outThe Last of Us' side characters.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video’sFalloutTV show took a wholly different approach. Rather than directly adapting a story from the games,Falloutfocuses on entirely original characters in an entirely original story within theFalloutuniverse. In fact, theFalloutTV show acts almost like a sequel toFallout 4, with the differences in its narrative meaning that it didn’t have to worry about changing the source material. Major elements from the games, such as the New Vegas storyline, take place in the background of the main story, which is why it works so well.
Halo’s changes weren’t well received, but the show didn’t change enough to stand on its own.Halocould have worked if it stayed incredibly close to the source material, or it could have worked if it told an entirely new story set in theHalouniverse. However,Halodecided to still focus on Master Chief, although it made enough changes to where it didn’t feel like the games that the fans loved, meaning that it was a failure.
Halo Timeline: When The Show Takes Place Compared To The Games
Paramount+’s Halo TV series brought Master Chief and the Covenant to life on the small screen - but how does the show fit the timeline?
Despite Halo’s Cancelation, Video Game TV Shows Have Been A Pleasant Surprise
They Are Overwhelmingly Successful
WhileHalo’s season 3 cancelation still proves that adaptations can struggle, video game TV shows in recent years have overwhelmingly been a pleasant surprise. AlongsideThe Last of UsandFallout, video game TV adaptations likeCastlevania,Arcane,Cyberpunk: Edgerunners,The Cuphead Show,The Witcher, and more have managed to please fans and newcomers alike. This highlights that video game TV shows still can be good, andHalowas unfortunately the now-rare example of a series that didn’t work.
In fact, it can be argued that television is a better medium for video game adaptations than movies. TV allows the massive worlds of these video games to be further fleshed out than the comparatively limited runtime of a movie, which is why franchises likeThe Last of UsandFallouthave chosen to take the TV route. It is entirely possible that aHaloTV show could have been good, but it failed because of the creative decisions that were made, not inherently because of its status as a video game TV adaptation.
Halo
Cast
A live-action adaptation of the video game franchise of the same name, Halo follows Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 (Pablo Schrieber) as he fights his part in a war between humanity’s United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Covenant, an alliance of multiple hostile races of aliens intent on destroying the human race. The Master Chief is supported by Cortana (Jen Taylor) - an AI construct based on the personality of Dr. Catherine Halsey, who created the Spartan supersoldier program - implanted in his brain.
