Filming for Ridley Scott's new Halo project began recently in Northern Ireland's Titanic Quarter, whilst the upcoming Halo: Guardian game is coming exclusively to Microsoft's Xbox One console.
A YouTube video from last week shows what appears to be a gun-toting actor dressed in military uniform, walking past a group of film extras:
The identity of the actor is unknown, and the context of the scene is unclear at this time. Scott's latest Halo-themed project is not to be confused with Microsoft's Halo TV series, which is to be helmed by legendary director/producer Steven Spielberg. In short, there are two Halo film projects in the works right now.
Halo 5: Guardians
Halo 5: Guardians, the latest installment in the franchise, is scheduled to have its launch date sometime in fall 2015. This information was first revealed last month in an official unveiling event staged by 343 Industries, developers of Halo 5. Bonnie Ross, general manager at 343 Industries, promised to "deliver the 'Halo' game that fans deserve, and a game that is built from ground up for Xbox One."
"Halo" isn't simply a perennial game franchise, it's a part of the Xbox platform itself," Ross explained. "So we asked ourselves, how do we begin and where do we go with 'Halo' on Xbox One?'
As of now, 343 Industries has not given an exact shipping date. So, Halo fans will have to wait for more information from 343 that will be available in the coming months.
Details regarding Halo 5's plot are rather miniscule, and have been limited to rumors and an official teaser trailer released last year at E3 2013. There exists the possibility that an updated trailer revealing more information will be available though, when E3 2014 kicks off on June 10 at the Los Angeles Convention center.
One of the latest rumors to be making the rounds is the possibility that supporting character Catherine Halsey is coming back as the main villain:
In the canonical Halo universe, Halsey is the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) officer who oversaw the Spartan-II super soldier program that created John-117, aka 'Masterchief' -- the main hero of the series.
In Halo 4's 'Spartan Ops' multiplayer campaign, Halsey loses an arm in a botched assassination attempt on her life by Commander Sarah Palmer, acting under orders from the head of the ONI himself. In the final chapter, Halsey is seen defecting over to Covenant alien forces, after swearing revenge against the human USNC military force.
In preparation for the impending Halo 5 launch date, Microsoft is going to be releasing the remastered versions of the first four Halo Games as an Xbox One exclusive mega-bundle later this year. Halo fans will be delighted with seeing the updated version of Halo: Combat Evolved (2001), Halo 2 (2004), Halo 3 (2007), and Halo 4 (2012) that takes full advantage of next-gen hardware.
