Sometimes, it takes someone from a different industry to provide a unique perspective on our mainstays. Halo s main character Master Chief is, to all in the gaming industry, an ass-kicking super soldier with little regard for anything but the primary objective.
That’s what makes this interview with Neill Blomkamp so interesting. The director of one of this summer’s big hits, District 9, waxes poetic about Halo, a project to which he was attached that, so far, is in silver screen limbo.
From Rotten Tomatoes:
You said recently that you won’t get involved in the screen version of Halo if it does get made. Is that still the case
[Blomkamp:] One thing I’ve learnt as I’ve gotten older is to never say never. My instinct says that I probably shouldn’t work on Halo because it’s just a strange feeling to pour yourself into something and then have the plug pulled on it. Something in the universe is sending me some kind of message.
But the flip side is that the reason I wanted to do Halo in the first place, and the reason I was so energized to do Halo, is that creatively I love it. I totally love the universe of Halo on every level. Not only is it this epic space saga but Master Chief is such an awesome character. This guy – whether he knows it or not – is a victim of this military-industrial complex. It’s a totally compelling world to be involved in. So on a creative level I’d love to go back there, but I probably would say no.
Master Chief as victim is definitely a different perspective, and one that should remind us that our preconceived notions may not be the only way to look at some of our industry’s mainstays.
