Microsoft announced today that Showtime has commissioned a 10-episode season of Halo, which is based on the game series and will be released in 2019.

“Halo (working title) will take place in the universe that first came to be in 2001, dramatizing an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant,” Microsoft’s Will Tuttle writes. “Kyle Killen (Awake) will serve as executive producer, writer, and showrunner. Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) will direct multiple episodes and also executive produce the hour-long series which enters production in early 2019.”

This is great news: Microsoft has been trying to get a Halo TV series off the ground for years, and Steven Spielberg has been attached to the product. (He’s not mentioned specifically in today’s announcement, but Spielberg’s Amblin Television is producing the show.)

And when you consider the success of cable sci-fi shows like Battlestar Galactica and even The Walking Dead, it’s not hard to imagine Halo working over the long term.

There isn’t a lot of information yet, but I suspect we’ll learn more—including about the cast—as the year progresses.

Tagged with Halo, Halo TV series