Even Before Pablo Schreiber Butchered it, Halo Reach Had 1 Major Reason Why It’s Incompatible as a Live Action Series

There’s no doubt that Paramount’s Halo TV series was a massive disappointment, with it spending two seasons attempting to adapt some aspects of the series’ canon while also inducing severe changes to the original Halo games. Considering its horrible reception and massive budget, it’s no surprise that Paramount decided to cancel the Halo show after just two seasons.

Before the show’s cancellation, it looked like Season 3 was going to adopt one of the biggest-fan favorite stores of the franchise, The Fall of Reach. The event has been a major turning point for every character in the series. While it’s sad that we’ll never see a live-action adaptation of the event, it’s probably for the better when you consider the circumstances behind Reach‘s development by Bungie.

Halo Reach Was Never Meant For the Big Screens

In Halo‘s canon timeline, The Fall of Reach is what shows the true devastation of the war between humanity and the Covenant. The story regarding this event is told to us in Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund, but we get the most from Halo: Reach, the video game crafted by Bungie.

When we talk about the video game itself, it was one of the best ones in the series. Putting players in the shoes of a spartan squad running rounds during the fall of Reach gave us an tragic sendoff for the franchise at the time.

Bungie’s way of showcasing the gradual fall of the Human fitness world, Reach, to an invading Covenant armada was quite phenomenal. However, while developing the game, the plotline wasn’t the main focus, and that’s evident in the overall storytelling.

Reach‘s entire plot is filled with logical issues that stem from the UNSC’s own terrible decisions rather than the forces of Covenant. This completely derails us from the sense of tragedy and doesn’t properly showcase the desperation of Reach‘s fall. The game could’ve been a lot more effective in storytelling if it conveyed a sense of inevitable loss, something similar to what we’d seen in Spec Ops: The Line.

Reach was, and always will be, about its incredible characters. The entire Noble Squad, and most crucially, Noble Six, had a profound impact on the story of Halo, being one to unite Cortona and Master Chief. Each Spartan in the game had a unique role and backstory, which made all of their sacrifices for the inhumanity deeply impactful.

If the now-canceled Halo show had featured Reach‘s fall as a plotline, it certainly wouldn’t have worked out when you consider Bungie’s focus on characters instead of stories. As we’ve seen in the past, live-action series can only deliver when both plot and characters work in harmony. Paramount most probably realized the problems materializing such a one-sided storyline would bring to the table and only gave it a single episode in the first season.

The Future Looks Bright For the Halo Franchise

It’s not just the TV show that was a massive bust; the last couple of years for the Halo franchise altogether have been a disaster. Ever since 343 Industries took over the development, the series has been spiraling down. Infinite was supposed to be 343’s redemption, but it failed to hit the mark.

However, Xbox wouldn’t give up on its most iconic IP just like that. At the end of the 2020 Halo World Championship, we were given our first look at the Halo Studios, the new moniker for 343 Industries. Not only that, it was revealed that all the future entries in the franchise will be powered by Unreal Engine 5.

According to developers, the transition to Unreal Engine will allow Halo Studios to craft quality experiences for the fanbase. The Unreal Engine features many advanced technologies that can elevate any game, as seen with Hellblade 2. The engine is also the industry standard and well-known among developers.

With the change in direction and development tools, it seems like the series might see a resurgence of titles that we haven’t witnessed since the late 2000s. This might even encourage Paramount to try its luck with another season of the Halo TV show.

With that said, do you think the Halo TV show deserved a third season? Let us know in the comments below.