Why No One Knows How to Adapt Halo for Screen

A look at why no one knows how to adapt Halo for the screen. Spoiler alert: it's because Halo invented its own genre. This episode is a full breakdown of this Halo genre and how one would adapt it for screen.
With KZbin clips from @TheActMan, @HiddenXperia, @ShreddedNerd, @nerdrotic.
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Full playlist here:
• Music | Why No One Kno...
- "Last Stop" by Karl Casey @WhiteBatAudio
Cast:
Narrator ... Selvir Katich | / selvirkatich
Hartman ... Joe Barra | / joejbarra
Himself ... The Act Man | / theactman_yt
Himself ... HiddenXperia | / hiddenxperia
Himself ... ShreddedNerd | / o_sneedy
Thanks for watching!
#halo #masterchief #warhammer40k #paramountplus #haloseries #screenwriting #videoessay
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
3:15 What Is Genre?
9:32 Who Is Bungie?
14:26 What Is Halo?
31:38 Sierra 117
48:08 Writing Halo
57:10 Outro

[@TheMartyODonnell]

You make the movie. I’ll write the music. (If you want)

[@NarrativeArcade]

Absolutely! Hahaha not even a question! I do plan to produce a Halo short eventually based on everything I laid out here.

[@auxilirious]

@@NarrativeArcadeyou have just been given a golden egg don’t mess this up

[@MyVirtualLife]

You know you are watching a quality Halo video when Marty comments on it.

[@keilafleischbein59]

Marty I love you!

[@DojoDoggo]

how about future halo games? 0.0

[@sharpshot404]

It’s crazy how the Halo Wars games managed to nail these vibes in both games and they weren’t even designed by their original dev teams.

[@RyneLanders]

I was thinking the same thing. 2 RTS games did better on the franchise than 2 or 3 mainline FPS entries.

[@Duke16Devlin]

Same with their trailers, especially the Atriox vs Cutter trailer. I rank them right up there with the live action ODST and Deliver Hope trailers. Powerful!

[@dataracer1172]

Interesting cause it's true. 343 just has low quality people working there now. That's all there is to it.

[@themasterseye]

Lets not jump to low quality people. They just have different priorities. The devs at 343 are trying to tell their own story, instead of continuing halo. Thats why there was a 90 degree turn in terms of art style, enemies, and character demeanor. 343 is full of people who want to make the next best scifi shooter, not the next best halo game. Which is a direct contradiction to what they said when they formed 343 as a company "filled by the people who love halo"@@dataracer1172

[@bombomos]

Halo wars wasn't designed by 343i you are right

[@VictusPrime]

Holy shit, the algorithm has blessed me this day. This isn't just a video essay on how to adapt Halo, you're literally breaking down this franchise in a way I've never even considered before.

[@ConcreteHeat]

This man just dropped the best video essay I have seen and just straight up murdered current Hollywood.

[@user-uq4ro8kf5p]

This vid is crazy. Wish I was them. They think in different dimensions

[@wolvesrevenge866]

Master chief: *Fucks up the covenant.* Master cheeks: *Fucks the covenant.*

[@ethanhamer320]

I would like this but you have 117 likes rn

[@americancapitalist9094]

@@ethanhamer320You can come back and like it. Someone already screwed it up.

[@goldman77700]

@@ethanhamer320 Few more and it'll be 169.

[@Spillow-C]

Master Chief: claps Covenant's cheeks John Halo: CLAPS Covenant's cheeks

[@cway-cway2256]

I read this in master chiefs voice 😂

[@fidalf99]

This guy knows what he's talking about. Cinema-wise and lore-wise.

[@hollowedshadow2822]

If I ever win the lottery, I'm getting you to write a movie script for halo, and paying off whoever i need to, to get it produced.

[@Marked_One333]

I second this, I’ll throw in

[@Black_Jesus3005]

I got $5 on it!

[@hollowedshadow2822]

@@Black_Jesus3005 good luck.

[@BlargeMan]

$50 from me

[@mckenzielannigan4305]

Honestly the best incarnations of great movie adaptions for halo were the marketing ads for halo 3, ODST and reach, not to mention the landfall short.

[@KermRiv]

Foward unto dawn is underrated, the invisible elite scene is peak

[@HarrowKrodarius]

@@KermRiv I totally agree, and it came from a studio or team with much much less funding

[@jobiy1999]

About once every six months I'll go back and watch all the promotional content for halo 3 - reach. I showed my little brother Forward unto Dawn recently and his mind was blown seeing an elite in "real life".

[@heritic1hero]

"Palo-Cosmic Epic" YESSS YESSS YESSAS

[@JemKadetchy]

I think whats missing is covenant dialogue aswell. Show how righteous they believe they are, the covenant is essentially Templars in the crusade.

[@akatoshmorgul9367]

You're wrong. The Crusades were mainly logistical, religion wasn't really a main factor of the Crusades. It was a pretty consistent variable but not a reason of the Crusades. After Muslims and Christians captured and recaptured the Holy land, they would coexist with them. To this day, there are millions of Christians in the Muslim world and millions of Muslims in the Christian world.

[@LastKingLKArthur]

The other side captured Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and so on. En slav d them, forced them to convert. Forced them to do many things. Thats why the cru cruise happened

[@LastKingLKArthur]

And thats why its all arab and muslim today. The others were castrated

[@LastKingLKArthur]

And cast rated them so that their lineage comes to an end

[@jacepalermo6053]

You, marty, and halo VFX should all throw together a huge collaboration! Me and many others would love to see a full length film eventually and you guys are the ones we trust most!

[@KaptifLaDistillerie]

This ! Animations are so good nowadays we don't really need live action to truly enjoy Halo. Something in the line of what Blur studios did with Halo 2 Anniversary cutscenes would just be perfect, we'd need the voice actors as well. I would love a community made project with all the passionate people in it, crowdfunding would probably have great success so everyone who want can get paid for their work. Then it's just released for free as a fan project to avoid legal issues. In the end i'm more surprised that the Halo community has never tried to come together for something like that compared to how it took 22 years for Hollywood to produce a turd...

[@irrellevents]

​@@KaptifLaDistillerieunfortunately making it free doesn't avoid legal issues. Also, crowdfunding makes it not free.

[@mythicknz8203]

And sodaz

[@catsareamazing3616]

Yess sodaz reach animation is amazing ​@@mythicknz8203

[@velraven8944]

@@irrellevents If I ever won the lottery I would 100% throw every cent into a fund to buy rights to make a derivative work off of the Halo IP and I know for a fact I'd have thousands at least along with me

[@MajorLeeAwesome]

I will pay money for the entirety of the rule 34 essay.

[@RyneLanders]

This was an incredible video. And no exaggeration here, it was truly cathartic. Youve put into industry and technical terms the feeling all of us fans have been experieincing for a long time now but never knew how to convey.

[@NarrativeArcade]

That was the goal! Happy to see people enjoying it :)

[@StrigorNoctisFilm]

Hopefully this is wake up call for all the general audience," this is what Halo should be".

[@Skiplis1]

Just saw marketing for the new season... people form germany seem to love it... i do not know why.. 😅

[@taiwoolaleye6333]

@@Skiplis1 its good

[@John-fk2ky]

@@taiwoolaleye6333 you have HORRIBLE tastes in TV shows. The Halo show isn’t just a bad adaptation, it’s absolutely abysmal as its own thing.

[@taiwoolaleye6333]

@@John-fk2ky tell me why its bad on its own

[@damiantirado9616]

@@taiwoolaleye6333it’s awful and it’s badly written

[@BrohoshaphatG]

"Wake me when you sneed me." -Master Chuck

[@bingbong3084]

subtle

[@Daggerpaw1]

Never thought I'd get to hear Niko Bellic educate me on the philosophy of halo storytelling. Great video and you deserve way more subs!

[@NarrativeArcade]

😂 thanks man! GTA 4 is one of my favorites. Might do that one someday for a Balkan meme overload.

[@freechalupa6722]

This is the best analysis of Halo's story, and what makes it unique, that I've ever seen. As a fan from the CE days, it's validating to see someone articulate these ideas so much more clearly than I ever could.

[@statemonster]

This went in my Works Of Art playlist, this has put words to the thoughts I had about what was putting me off the show. This is incredible, your love for Halo is shown here and I do hope in the future the game are done justice.

[@NarrativeArcade]

Thank you! That was definitely the goal. There was absolutely no excuse not to do it right because all the screenwriting tools are there. They simply chose not to.

[@damian4727]

Jesus christ I feel like I just walked into someone’s personal studio room by accident but I was invited actually.That alone was an experience through out this video.I have no doubt in you to make things come to light.Spectacular video and best of luck my friend.

[@mindfulcitizen1]

I’m at work sitting in my car as a 35 year old man--teary eyed. This game meant so much to so many of us growing up. You broke down the formula perfectly and as a life long fan of halo, witnessing these injustices corporations and studios have practiced on my favorite gaming franchise has been depressing to say the least. I hope one day we can get the perfect tornado of creativity again in a studio. I wish we could say we didn’t know what we had--but we did. That’s why we lined up in droves. I appreciate all the work you put into this video. Absolutely brilliant. Giving you a like and subscribe to hope for your future success.

[@user-du2ne2vn1z]

Instead of humans hunting mammoth, have the humans themselves being hunted by starving Neanderthals with spears until they come up against a tribe of humans wielding bows. And the final battle of Reach could be called Operation Longbow. I'm a sucker for tying it back together at the end. I really like channel and I'm gonna finger fuck the algorithm down here 'til you get those numbers up.

[@NarrativeArcade]

Nice! That one is even better! I like it. There is so much that can be done with Halo. Fingers crossed for the algorithm, it just takes time because channel is still small.

[@jarredeagley1748]

This is brilliant

[@Play1nWithFire]

Finger fuckin that algorithm

[@trebacca9]

I think the issue is how many studios don't understand that Chief *isn't* a character. He's an archetype. He isn't a soldier, he is The Soldier, and he has - only barely metaphorically - the goddess Athena in his helmet with him. He's a representation of drive, fighting spirit, and power. He's kinda inhuman in his focus, and that's *essential* to portray him correctly.

[@Wuunderboy]

100% !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Arander92]

I mean, this isn’t entirely accurate. Chief has always been a character with a personality, it’s just not a very expressive personality. Hollywood’s mistake is thinking this is a flaw that they have to correct. People seem to have forgotten the “strong, silent type” has a rich history in action cinema. It doesn’t mean they’re not characters. They just don’t talk every fucking 5 minutes like everyone seems to want these days

[@trebacca9]

@@Arander92 True enough. I think Spartans in general have the most narrative impact as a contrast to regular humans, though. They make each other more interesting. Sergeant Johnson seems like even more of a firebrand because he's the counterpoint to Chief, who in turn seems even more stoic and badass because he knows actions speak louder, and explosions louder still.

[@Arander92]

@@trebacca9 All fair points. I personally just can’t view him as the player cipher that a lot of people view him as, mainly because he has a clear (dry) sense of humor. He’s very often cracking one liners before some shit goes down. He even shows hints of enjoying the fight (at least in the games). I read on Halopedia once that Joseph Staten and/or Bungie originally conceived of MC as “Clint Eastwood in space”. I think that is the PERFECT description of Master Chief and his character. He’s a man of few words. But when he talks, everyone listens

[@Arander92]

Also cause I read Fall of Reach when it came out, so I always knew Chief is a white guy with brown buzzed hair. As a black guy, I can’t exactly project myself onto very easily lol

[@jfitz6517]

I got to hear Eric Nylund speak at San Diego Comic Con after the release of Halo 2. He said, when writing Fall of Reach, he locked himself into a hotel room for a week & didn’t come out till the draft was done.

[@UnsheathedAgony]

Write a story about ODSTs. Take inspiration from the older advertisements. Marines becoming ODSTs or something. Then show the Chief for 2 minutes at the end of the first season, but keep the helmet on, contact his origional voice actor. Boom. Fill in the blanks. Itd be worth watching.

[@I_enjoy_some_things]

Just make “Band of Brothers but Halo” using Neill Blomkamp‘s style of grounded & gritty sci-if realism. He’s the director of movies like District 9, Chappie, and Elysium. HE ALSO ALREADY MADE A HALO SHORT called Landfall. It’s sick.

[@icannon6611]

​@@I_enjoy_some_things Just make halo 3s (and honestly 5s) marketing shorts into extended movies, the plots are already there. The odst film is one of the best I've ever seen

[@shcdemolisher]

@@I_enjoy_some_things Landfall WAS going to be a full movie but sadly it got canceled so they took all the material and made it into a short.

[@KaitoBravo]

I don't usually watch hour-long essay videos, but when I do, it's a banger in my book. I'm here to witness the growth of this channel.

[@callusklaus2413]

I think a Band of Brothers/The Pacific tone would work really well in Halo. Follow a platoon of Marines from Harvest to Earth. Touch on major conflicts during the war. Watch as beloved characters die off during the war, and watch the replacements go as well. By the time we reach earth, the survivors have been whittled down too, grinded into dust after desperate defense and retreat after desperate defeat. This arc would bring out the dissolution of the people who fought impossible odds, but also their indomitable human spirit and heroics. "Replacements?" "This late in the war, who isn't?"

[@NarrativeArcade]

The Halo short I'm writing took great inspiration from The Pacific. It centers around the first time Spartan-IIs are deployed. I wrote it like the Battle of Alamo meets the Pacific. I had to cut that part from the video because I wanted to keep the focus on a definitive movie adaptation. But you're absolutely right, TV-wise, it should've been the tone of Band of Brothers/The Pacific.

[@dataracer1172]

Dude your spot on. I don't think Halo should've ever been done as long form storytelling imo, but if you are, Band of Brothers structure is the only way to do it well. Its a true military story. A band of Spartans in training > the war and the casualties and replacements add the drama. Good stuff. I like it. Wish you were in charge at Paramount dude. Lol

[@TT-uy5el]

where can we get this short when you are done with it? @@NarrativeArcade

[@Arander92]

@@dataracer1172 I actually think there’s another way for long form storytelling to work in Halo, but here’s the trick: It has to be a Post-War setting. Basically it would have to be ‘Star Trek TNG meets Halo’ only literally. We would follow a cast of characters set on either a ship or city, who are tasked with settling various disputes and political crises in the post-war era. Preventing another war from breaking out, moral dilemmas, a new arms race for Forerunner tech between human factions and alien alike. Of course, it wouldn’t be a military focused show (more so on the explorers and diplomats, like Star Trek) but set in Halo itself would give it that military flavor. The Human-Covenant War would serve as a fantastic backstory that informs all the characters and events in said show, the same way Robert’s Rebellion was the lynchpin event that shaped every event in GoT

[@quisqueyanguy120]

Make a story about Sargent Johnson, he saw the beginning and the end of the war.

[@shizz3907]

This is probably top 5 video essays I’ve ever seen and I watch video essays A LOT

[@titansans2956]

Rampancy was actually talked about in the I love bees arg thing, so that was always a concept that existed before Halo 5.

[@zilentis1835]

Rampancy was literally the main plot of Marathon too, and talked about in 2003’s Halo First Strike book.

[@roberthesser6402]

It was also talked about in Halo 3, in the terminals. I love this video and I think it hits on a lot of key elements, but it also oversimplifies them into being too strict. Chief's monologue to the Pilot about making mistakes that he rightfully lauds only carries the weight that it does, and really only could have happened the way that it does, because of Halo 4 (and the plot of 5, but that game still has problems). The exploration into who the Chief is, isn't an inherently bad thing. They just have to keep in mind that they're writing the Master Chief; he still needs to be who he is, and I maintain that the first two 343i games got him right (for as much as he was IN Halo 5, that is). Infinite is the culmination of that inner journey. Infinite is an exploration of grief, loss, and regret, and how we handle those experiences, that permeates every single character in the game, even the villains. But that story is only possible because of the previous two games. Singling out Halo Infinite for "finally getting Chief right" reminds me of people who claim God of War "grew up" with the Norse games; the Norse games can only be as good as they are because of the ground work laid out by the Greek games. Kratos' journey in the Norse games only carries all the weight it does because of those earlier, "less mature" games. God of War was always deep, and 343i's Master Chief was always good. Flawed, perhaps, but still very good.

[@EggEnjoyer]

@@zilentis1835Rampancy in the Bungie lore and in Marathon, are not the same as how rampancy is displayed in halo 4.

[@EggEnjoyer]

@@roberthesser6402 Some of the halo 3 terminals were written by Frank O Connor. So he implanted concepts foriegn to the halo franchise in those terminals and then fleshed them out in his fanfics known as halo 4 and 5. Rampancy did exist in Bungie, but how it’s represented in halo 4 is a misrepresentation. Master chief in halo 4 doesn’t even act like himself. Funny how halo 3 also puts Cortana’s life on the line and chief doesn’t have a mental breakdown over it. Instead they just both stick to the mission. It’s clear that chief feels a kind of way, this evident through the flashbacks. Yet he never put his personal feelings over the events in front of him. It made much more sense to the character

[@roberthesser6402]

@@EggEnjoyer the halo 3 terminals were also co-signed by joe staten and the rest of the writing team. In fact Jason Jones himself is credited as being part of the narrative team on the terminals, which, to the best of my knowledge is the only time he was directly involved in the writing of part of the games since halo CE. Frankie also didn’t write Halo 4 or 5. The chief also doesn’t have a mental breakdown in halo 4. He remains fully committed to the mission just the same as any other place in the franchise. He just also has to deal with somebody he’s close to slowly dying and him not being able to save her. But if you’re going to do grossly mischaracterize the story that badly, then I can see there’s no use having a conversation about it.

[@zucciniii1878]

Ive never had an hour long video fly by in 10 minutes before. This, like Halo, is a masterpiece.

[@Skiplis1]

So true! Me neither. It's like watching a good movie

[@Joenzetie]

You deserve way more subscribers dude. Genuinely amazing work.

[@NarrativeArcade]

Thank you so much! Working on it 💪channel is growing, the damn machine just needs time learning more about the channel content and audience. I will try to ride more viral waves along the way. Also getting more actors involved, so writing scenes for them is always fun.

[@everythingUTrealestate]

Wow I straight up thought you were a much bigger KZbinr. You deserve more subs holy shit

[@NarrativeArcade]

I get that a lot here 😅 channel is fairly new, it'll grow :)

[@habibainunsyifaf6463]

This is why i stay with (some of )Halo Legends, Forward Unto Dawn, Halo 3 live action trailer and Halo 3 ODST live action trailer.

[@Demogrim]

Not using hyperbole, this is one of my favourite KZbin videos of all time.

[@bigl2328]

That rule 34 rewind was GOLD 😂

[@Chairman_Wang]

I quite literally lol’ed

[@timzerby3312]

​@@Chairman_Wangsame... and I'm at work, so that was fun trying to explain

[@14megasxlr]

God, I love that old Marty vs Joe interview clip. That is just a workplace treasure right. Also, you have a great sense of humor and perspective. I must sub immaculately.

[@nowenattal4018]

Interestingly, you can see a lot of the elements you identified in Halo's genre in its music. You have the Paleo- element in the drums, which even the halo wiki calls a "tribal percussion section." You have the cosmic and techno parts with high floaty strings and synths. You have the mysticism part with the chants. If you stretch a bit, you even have the hyperagency come through in that it is an orchestral piece and is thus guided and controlled by the conductor.

[@Dr0ctagonapus5]

This is the most complete explanation of Halo's formula that I've ever seen. I just wish it could be applied. 😭

[@user-rh9br8lj9z]

Amazing video!! Thank you my friend for having my voice in this!

[@NarrativeArcade]

Thank you for joining, man! Here's to much more!

[@guilla5]

I love how you said about master chief an aproximation of what Stan Lee said about Spiderman, that every child can be spiderman as he's behind the suit.

[@piolo1023]

You've put into words that I've never been able to describe when I think about halo. That was an amazing experience, thanks

[@Nethseaar]

Excellent production and writing! O that we had people of your quality working on Halo!

[@dracodaym715]

I am so impressed with your understanding of not only halo but film and genre in general. I learned so much and you presented it in such a cohesive and understandable manner. Would love to see what you can do with a big budget. Look forward to seeing the shorts u come up with✊🏼

[@trebberzings676]

I didn't realize you were a smaller channel! You deserve so much more attention for this. This is hands down one of the best video essays I've ever seen. Very fun, incredibly educational, and immensely inspiring. Keep it up! :D

[@bfedezl2018]

YES! I thought exactly about Warhammer as another example of this genre. Humanity is always on the back foot even if they are the dominant power. The whole concept of the imperial creed and the concept of the emperor being an unwilling god gives an aura of mysticism that compliments as well the techno-mysticism of the dark age od technology, in which humanity is basically the ancient forerunners. I think mass effect as well fits this genre

[@k4karnage]

When he said "Epic", I knew he knew what he was talking about. Halo was framed as an epic all the way back in 01. This video is great and im glad the algorithm blessed me with it today.

[@GiltUwU]

Hearing "to give the covenant back their bomb" always make me giggle like a little kid as i remember the absolute badassery of chief lol

[@sleepyguardian1962]

overall absolutely fantastic video essay, but can we talk about how god damn smooth the transition at 49:25 was

[@TurianX]

I love how this actually got to the point and wasn't just screaming nonsense the whole time. Good job man, this NAILS the reasons why the show doesnt work.

[@commonchannel3273]

This was a great video. I got into Halo later (following the release of 5) and ever since then I’ve always wanted to see a good adaptation done for it. Your idea about what it could’ve been/could still be was really great to listen to. Glad I found this channel.

[@Philogamer97]

Your analysis is incredibly well thought out, you clearly know what you are talking about, not only about storytelling, cinema and understanding the audience, but also about Halo, the lore, the themes and how characters, scenery and lore all comes together to make what was a unique story. I loved how deep you dug down to find the leitmotif of Halo, coming out even with a proper name for the genre, defining it and well encapsulating what makes Halo what it is. While watching your analysis, I've got both entertainment and education about things that always interested me but never got to study them. I wanted to make this premise before telling you my feedback to say that I'm not as educated and well versed in the art of storytelling as you, but my vision for a Halo film is different. In my opinion, the rings should always be the main focus and setting, of Halo. In my opinion, a Halo movie should start following as you said the pov of a hunter-gatherer human but not the actual primitive humans but the ones that were kept on the halo ring before reseeding them on the Earth. The camera follows one of those humans trying to hunt a prey while making his way through a thick forest, and after some time he gets out of the forest with the prey escaping but showing the horizon of the Halo ring to the camera and the viewer, the enchanting Marty music kicks, beam emitters shooting their beams of energy towards the sky, and then here's the Halo title forming up with a fade out. For the movie itself I would try to tell the story of the first Halo game, the ring, the convenant and the cosmic horror of the flood everything of what you explained about what makes halo actually halo, comes together in this kind of setting. For the characters I really like the idea of following the story of normal soldiers with their moral struggles like an ex insurrectionist odst (as you pointed out) in parallel to the master chief that is silently trying to stop the covenant and then the flood. I actually see this more as a TV series, because we could have all the time to make a buildup to the flood reveal, to flash out the personal stories of the marines and the odst protagonist and to make the lengthy solitary parts of the chief exploring the ring deeper and more immersive. This is how I immagine a Halo story using the cinematographic visual media. Whoever reads this comment, should take into consideration that this is the opinion of someone who never studied anything related to storytelling and who even has some issues with the English language too! I'm not a native, so please excuse my grammar. So please, take everything I've said with a huge grain of salt.

[@B8V88]

We can only hope Halo will ever get the level of love you displayed in this video again.

[@Necrow_Productions]

Dude, I legit though this video was going to have 50,000 - 100,000 views. You are extremely under-rated! I am glad I can be the 100th comment and I hope you get many more! (Also, Marty being here is amazing!)

[@wiledman2430]

The rule 34 bit was gold.

[@cadehoppe0117]

This is incredible, amazing production, analysis, and solution. Dude you are gonna go places, and you deserve every subscriber you ever get!!

[@vagabon5130]

This guy is making a whole hellavu lot a sense. HALO was more ground breaking then i realized.

[@nightlydata2181]

If there was some kind of hall of fame or mountrushmore for Halo vids I feel this would(& should) be up there. Every word stated, every term coined, jus felt so right & like I & every Halo fan were tryin to scream these words into the ether where no-one was listenin. We knew, we understood, we had the answers, but not the words. Until now. Thx so much!💙💙💙

[@NarrativeArcade]

That was the goal :)

[@shreksnow1918]

Great video breaking down what went wrong with so many aspects of Hollywood, current game makers, and why so many adaptations bomb out. It’s crazy just how out of touch those people are. My ideal Halo adaptation (made by an idealized version of me who actually has the skills and resources necessary to make this a reality) would be a mini series that juggles the events of CE, The Flood book (the parts directly adapting CE weren’t very good due to a combination of Chief’s sections being set in stone so the author couldn’t do anything interesting with them, and Halo’s gameplay simply does not directly translate into book form. “Chief swaps out his weapon, Chief picks up a health pack, he shoots his gun and reloads once he reaches x amount of bullets”. The side stories on the other hand were truly PHENOMENAL! I loved the parts where Keyes and Jenkins were infected by the Flood, the missions with the marines and ODSTs, as well as the Grunt and Elite pair hunting Chief that gave us insight into how the Covenant operate), and Fireteam Raven (yes, the arcade rail shooter. There’s some cool moments in there that could be used to better flesh out the conflict. Plus, the team actually have some really interesting back stories. Unfortunately, none of that is presented through gameplay since it’s a rail shooter). In terms of tone it would mostly be a gritty war movie with some moments of levity, the parts with Chief would be like 80s action movies to show that Spartans can do all kinds of things that normal humans simply cannot, and once the Flood show up it would become horror focused and desperate. If they wanted to explore different characters’ origins they could have flashbacks to Fall of Reach, Contact Harvest, The Cole Protocol, and other books/comics. A separate universe would be perfectly fine as long as they kept it mostly faithful to the source material, while simultaneously taking a page from the Dead Space/Resident Evil remakes where they rearrange certain events for the sake of flow, make connections where none existed previously and reference other events that didn’t exist in the lore yet to make the world feel more cohesive, and have soft retcons to fix various plot holes and rectify old and new lore contradicting. I’d also throw in Digsite content like cut weapons, vehicles, Covenant species like the Engineers (they’d be located on Covenant ships and certain Forerunner structures to help the Covenant interact with unresponsive Forerunner technology) and Drinol/Sharquoi. If the show gets good number then they’d move onto season 2 electric boogaloo and that’s when things would get really crazy and take advantage of it being a separate universe. There would be an intermediate set of episodes that adapt First Strike, have a flashback episode showing how Johnson and others got off the Ring, and maybe even adapt the Halo 2 terminals that have to do with Guilty Spark conversing with the splinter group that would become the Heretics. The way season 2 diverts from the mainline story is by giving us Bungie’s original vision for Halo 2. Cut content like levels, storyboards, vehicles, weapons, enemies, and the third act with its “big reveal” would all be present. Along with Halo 3 content where appropriate (we know from Digsite that a lot of the ideas Bungie had for CE and 2 would make it into later games). There would also be some big changes to the Arbiter’s sections like having him fight against humans and alongside Brutes prior to the Great Schism. This would be a great way to show the viewer what it’s like the fight on the other side of the conflict, make the eventual human Elite alliance feel far more shaky and like one of desperation, and we’d be able to see Sentinels fighting alongside Reclaimers as a way to Foreshadow the human Forerunner connection. It would also make the eventual betrayal feel far more impactful if Elites and Brutes were fighting and dying alongside each other for the same cause, and make the Brutes feel like a proper member of the Covenant instead of just kind of being there until Bungie needed a new enemy type to mix up the gameplay. The cut third act would use a lot of ideas from 3’s earth sections mixed with what they had planned for 2. Once they get to the Ark (later changed to the portal to the Ark in 3) we’d get the infinity superior confrontation between Truth and the Arbiter where it’s revealed that Truth knew all along that the Rings would kill everything. In fact that’s exactly what he planned on doing. Upon learning this Arbiter would remove his helmet and throw it on the ground rejecting the title that Truth gave him. After killing Truth and having Chief deactivate the Array they’d go their separate ways with Chief fighting through a bunch of Brutes and escaping the destruction, and the Arbiter chases after Spark. He’d then be led to the Data Vault where falling rubble would break open this floating sarcophagus revealing a “Forerunner” skeleton that acted as template for the Ark’s machinery to guide the evolution of indigenous life along a desired path. This being who fired the Array was implied to be the Abrahamic god who’s been guiding human development. The more mythical Bible stories like Noah building an Ark to save life from a coming Flood and God creating man in his image were recontextualized as symbolic retellings of Forerunner history and apes being molded into Forerunners to create humans. Truth intended to use this to create a new species based on his genome becoming God that way. The reason he has the other two hierarchs killed was a way to both eliminate competition and consolidate power. The Great Schism happened to ensure the Covenant was too distracted with a civil war to figure out what Truth was doing. All while this is happening Truth would be safe beneath the Ark’s shield as the Rings wipe the slate clean and the new species created through the reseeding process would eventually come to worship him. The whole reason he and the other Prophets started the Human Covenant War was to hide the fact that in the old lore we were the children of their gods. After learning this the Elites would call off their war of extermination and leave to put out the fires of civil war that burned throughout the Covenant. In the end humanity would be free of the influence of the Forerunners and the Elites would be free of the lies of the Prophets. Now that would’ve been an INSANE ending! It’s such a shame that Halo 3’s story was a dumpster fire. 3 was a lot of fun, but aside from a few cool moments barely anything of substance happened. The Arbiter went from being one of the driving forces to being a side character, Miranda and Truth both took a noticeable intelligence drop, and it mostly just spun its wheels with Bungie clearly filling out a checklist of things that needed to happen and but barely any thought into how they’d connect. The absence of Jason Jones and Joseph Statin REALLY show. Again, I had a lot of fun with 3, but the story was a pretty big letdown. There would also be a side story that adapts ODST, but it would differ by having enemy Elites. We REALLY should’ve been fighting Elites for a good chunk of ODST, with Brutes appearing at night and in the last few flashbacks. The Brutes would show up to reinforce the Elites before going Order 66 on them. Then the squad and maybe a few marines would use the ensuing chaos as the perfect opportunity to collect Virgil and escape the city. The story would’ve really benefited from being able to see the Great Schism from the perspective of a normal human (more on the topic of being a normal human. ODST was a lot of fun and I loved the small details, but the gameplay kind of falls flat since they didn’t do enough to make you play like a normal human. Instead it was just diet Halo 3, Bungie didn’t take the opportunity to fix their overcorrection of the Brute’s gameplay in 3, and should’ve done a lot more to make the lesser Covenant feel like your equals/close lessers. It should’ve been a tactical shooter with a fleshed out stealth system. The game also should’ve had a few more levels). For the Great Schism Elites would have Halo 2 vehicles like the Shadows (includes the troop transport variant that was cut), Spectors, and for the section where you destroy a Scarab it would be the Halo 2 version staffed by Elites fighting off Brute Banshees. They’d also have a Drinol, and there’s would be a part where the characters have to run from it as it chases them through a tunnel (think the section from Half-Life 1 where Gordon is being chased through that tunnel as a Gargantuan is laying waste to marines, but with a Drinol fighting Brutes). Towards the end as Alpha 9 are escaping you’d have Elites and the few lesser Covenant still aligned with them (mostly Spec Ops Grunts) are also trying to get out. That’s my schitzo idea right there. What do you think of my ramblings?

[@jacksonheu2593]

Nice to see someone with such a love for Halo. Keep it up!

[@NarrativeArcade]

Thank you, will do!

[@Ludawig]

This blew my mind as someone who doesn't know anything about storytelling. It all makes sense now.

[@GNRguy17]

Phenomenal video. I didn’t think I would sit down and watch a 1 hour video essay about Halo, but here I am. You’ve earned a subscriber sir 🫡

[@smithcameron24]

Pure genius at work here. I've wanted the movie you described for years and am sorely disappointed every time halo media is released. I believe the statistic is that it takes 7 times to finally leave an abusive relationship. Somebody please, make this movie.

[@Spiderwolfer]

Insane video. The level at which you get halo was almost emotional for me. Halo 2 was one of the first games I ever played with my dad. It means a lot to me and to see a glimmer of hope through your ideas is truly heart warming after the desecration of halo we’ve seen these past years. I saw Marty’s comment about the music and it’s exciting. I really hope you do something here. You are humanities last hope haha

[@albertkim1809]

I love the intro of starting with prehistoric humans. Amazing concept

[@thomasfoster4091]

Man, I wish you were in charge of it!. You get it 100%. Great video.

[@wereitsoeasy189]

Dude, you make THE BEST videos ive seen on youtube. stellar work 🙌 ATTACK ON TITIAN then HALO !?!? I wish we were friends man

[@mathewhumvee]

I spent a good part of my life trying to figure out the Halo (X factor). Holy shit you explained it perfectly For me as a kid, it was the perfect blend of mystery and tangibility of the story. Not everything was explained and didn’t need to be. You didn’t need to be told this ring was unimaginable advanced, but also unfathomably ancient. I loved that Bungie left the mystery a mystery you kinda filled in the gaps. But the forerunner were 100% originally meant to be human ancestors.

[@Skiplis1]

Watched it now for the 4th time. And I still have the same feeling that you are *insert* God damn right GIF

[@AudibleFist]

I’ve been basically thinking for awhile that Chief was a 2D character that pushes the 3D characters around him to new heights without the verbiage to articulate it.

[@pieterdesnowboardify]

10 10 would watch your version of the series/movie!

[@aooaooapoooopa]

I shared this video out immediately. It truly captures all the issues as to why halo adaptations have just flopped and why it hasn’t been done right. Bravo man. This was fantastic

[@jadeGooders42]

Brillant video and completely spot on. How this channel hasn’t exploded I don’t know

[@ericmilligan6603]

This is the greatest video on Halo Ive ever seen. Bravo and thank you.

[@Slash687]

Good video man. The boobas bit cracked me up.

[@matthewarant377]

Some of the best story analysis i have ever seen.

[@leturtue]

I always go “meh” when the L/C/S is said at the beginning of a video, especially one this length, but you’ve earned it, and as a Halo fan you have my thanks. For standing by it when it needs ya ❤

[@davidebelvederi7686]

Awesome!!, As a die hard 40k and Halo fan I agree with your comparison.

[@I_enjoy_some_things]

I am so worried for 40k if it’s actually in Amazon’s hands. It’ll be Rings of Power-fied. Not everything needs to be social justice-y. Lmfao.

[@bfedezl2018]

@@I_enjoy_some_things it’s directed by Henry cavil and GW has been alive for 40 years for a reason. Don’t get your tits up

[@AMOROLD]

@@I_enjoy_some_thingsyeah well depends how much Henry would be able to defend the lore, I am concern as well. Screw all that Political correctness bullshit.

[@theweirding4215]

You could probably analyze the Dune chronicles (only Frank Herbert's books) from the framework of a paleo-cosmic epic around when Dune Pt. 2 comes out to get tons of views. The glove definitely fits for the chronicles as a whole. That'd be a lot of very symbolically and thematically dense books to read and understand in a short time though. Dune itself might fit into one of Save the Cat's archetypes (no idea which), and that's more along the lines of your analysis too. I'd watch the hell out of that.

[@NarrativeArcade]

I'll add it to the list :) yeah, I thought for a while now there might be a couple franchises that fit this mold.

[@theweirding4215]

@@NarrativeArcade You might be able to fit the Foundation Trilogy/Series in there as well, but as I understand it that TV Show has dramatically departed from the guiding ideas of the books whereas Denis Villeneuve's Dune matches the book beat-for-beat. Considering that, it might be that what you call a paleo-cosmic epic was actually the default story for (non weird-fiction) sci-fi before the genre bloomed out. Along those lines, War of the Worlds sort of fits as well doesn't it? Or maybe I'm reaching for straws here. If you do analyze Dune, you should keep in mind that its techno-mysticism lies in genetic engineering via selective breeding, and cultural engineering via social and environmental pressures. Both of which are deliberately applied to achieve the goals of the hyperagents of the setting: the Bene Gesserit, Tleilaxu, and the God-Emperor Leto II.

[@balls3289]

I am amazed this video goes unbelievably hard

[@charlief.]

Dude, you need to write the screenplay for a feature length Halo movie!

[@TheActiveAssault]

Spartan-IIs as 2D characters is so articulate! The function of boot camp (in the Marine Corps) is to break you down and build you back up into a Marine. It’s why the Marine Corps wants you as young as possible because that breakdown phase takes less time if you’ve lived less. For the Spartan IIs not only are they young enough to rebuild but enhanced to become more. It is for this reason that Spartan IIs have a mysterious allure to them. Like Demi-Gods themselves. They’re not robotic at all, they’re just fucking honed into spears. It’s why I liked the Halo Wars 1 depiction of SIIs so much. The motherfuckers just WORKED the whole god damn time but they’re such capable change agents that the whole narrative would be impossible without them. Spartan IIs should NEVER be the main character. When Jerome first entered the Spirit of Fire he said two phrases to Captain Cutter and Sgt. Forge and it kept the story moving. “That puts it outside weapon range” in reference to fucking killing Anders because she’s so important. And “Sir, Anders represents a significant security breach.” Spartan IIs are the rational/duty part of the main characters inner dialogue but walking around in badass power armor fighting alongside you.

[@onegrumpylumpy5736]

Subbed for "40 year old virgin IN SPACE" Absolutely fantastic video and channel

[@pureaccuracy874]

This is absolutely incredible. Thank you for this beacon of light. I'd like to add though, is one thing Halo does in addition to everything you mentioned, and I think overarches the genre, and makes its' story so compelling: Its also a creation myth in itself, and it runs parallel to the Abrahamic Genesis - which is a story so compelling to humanity that it's essentially written into our DNA, right from ancient Sumer and Ur. We LOVE creation myths. We see a story of the origin of man, with the Flood wiping everything out, and then we land on the Ark, a final refuge, and we cant help but attach our own knowledge of these stories to that, and like you said, we become the peasant making sense of the unfathomable advanced technology by condensing it into our own human creation myths. "Wow, this is the Ark! This is how humanity was saved from the Flood!" Anyway, this is why i, as a teenager, found it so compelling and still do today.

[@edieredlo2265]

You've put words to exactly what i have been thinking for a very long time. Fantastic video.

[@thedudeguy242]

Insanely good video. We're all looking forward to that short you mentioned in your comment lol. I think I might get that save the cat book for a buddy of mine who's going to school for filmmaking. I don't know if you watch anime at all but if you do I'd love to hear why you think film adaptations of anime have had a similar fate (that is, if you agree with that consensus at all).

[@NarrativeArcade]

I have an Attack on Titan breakdown on the channel. More is underway. We'll get to it all eventually :)

[@chiefshep5885]

Great job my friend! Thank you so much, I can tell just how much work went into the analysis, outstanding! And I totally agree with you. Also, I think there's another franchise that shares Halo's Paleo-Cosmic Epic genre, and it's Mass Effect, I don't know how familiar you are with it, highly recommend checking it out. Those 2 are my favorite franchises of all time, if you like Halo, which it seems like you do, you'll love Mass Effect as well! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it and whether or not you agree with it being Paleo-Cosmic Epic. See you in the next one, cheers from Canada!

[@NarrativeArcade]

Yes! I'm a huge Mass Effect fan and you're right on track for it sharing the same genre. I will do a breakdown of the whole trilogy some time in the future.

[@chiefshep5885]

@@NarrativeArcade Terrific! Looking forward to it!

[@kr0ck114]

This was incredible. I appreciate you using Halo to not only solve the problem of the show but as the current problems Hollywood is facing. Very well done.

[@velraven8944]

Incredible video, and I'm subscribing and desperately waiting to see what you do with a Halo short! Something you said especially resonated with me, about the Flood. Halo hasn't tackled the flood in a while and I doubt they are going to any time soon, but while it's been shot down and ignored by many people I've tried to talk about it to, I fully and wholly believe that the Flood are an adaption of the concept of Gnostic cosmology. The way the Gravemind talks throughout the games, in the Halo 3 terminals, and the wider context of the forerunner/flood themes (and Joseph Staten's father being a professor of theology) lead me to believe that the universe of Halo is a living product of consciousness (Neural-physics??) and while the precursors represented Aeons (earlier divisions of the "One consciousness", the Flood represent the universes return to the One through forced unification and assimilation of all sentient life, all while the Forerunners, Humanity, and the "Mantle of responsibility", are trying to plead the case for life that sin can be overcome and the living universe of diverse life can stave off it's extinction and deserve to exist in it's material status-quo. This is the core, in my opinion, of what makes the Flood the best (and truly biblical) cosmic horror creation I've ever known, they are the ultimate dread on every level from physical, to psychological, to spiritual. These deep mythological themes are one of the biggest things to get me into Halo in the first place, and I can credit them directly for getting me into philosophy and ancient mythology as fields. And 343 is trying to make some squid-people "a worse threat than the Flood", of course...

[@NarrativeArcade]

I like that! Staten's father being a professor of theology explains a lot.

[@Will_Forge]

Great minds think alike. I beat you to this realization about Halo's genre being the core issue by a couple of years and got my video out a few weeks before you. I'm a smaller KZbinr, though, so you got the audience and the experience to make a more engaging video. Great job! 😁 Obviously got a subscribe from me on this one.

[@NarrativeArcade]

Sounds dope! I'm at the Berlinale over the next few days. I'll check yours out when I come back.

[@Will_Forge]

@@NarrativeArcade sounds great! Mine assumes the old original genre meanings and purpose of those like "war" that have slowly become as you said more like categories of film. So you addressed it with the modern understanding, and I went from a different angle to try to return to the old obsolete genres to explain the issue. My thinking was based on what I know, and I hadn't read that book you mentioned, but I wish I had because you had some great insights from there. In the end we seem to have come to the same ideas overall. I mean most of all we both realized the crux of the failures are in their failure to match the game's true genre that should be adhered to when adapting it to film, what I called the "cinematic genre". In my video I think what you're describing is the "Narrative genre". In my video I said Halo was a "planetary romance" narrative genre, though I did neglect to consider the impact of the AI involved. So either way the core of both our videos is exactly the same in pointing out the flaw. They keep fucking up the genre! 😆 Also yours is way better produced. Your editing, flow, and everything is more professional, where mine is formed as a sort of vlog style conversation. Like a vlog brothers style vs your more professional almost documentary style. Personally I think yours is made better, but I also make points you don't, and you make points I don't. So they're like great companion videos to argue both our points. 🤘

[@Will_Forge]

@@NarrativeArcade by the way, I'm 100% going to refer to your video in my Halo forge/chat live streams. I'd love if you could make it to one of those sometime and either chat or hop into voice chat with me. Anyway, just let me know either way! 😄

[@Will_Forge]

@@NarrativeArcade Forgot to mention here that I sent you an email on your channel's email address with a link to my video for ease since you're getting a ton of good feedback here and this comment thread probably got berried. Really looking forward to hearing from you.

[@megamuffin15]

Great analysis of the Master Chief as a character. He's Clint Eastwood, he's Indiana Jones, he's James Bond. Cool guy who kicks ass but is still likeable with morals to guide them.

[@Hiiiiii74]

After watching, I expected this channel to have like a million subscribers. Only 2.8k? Guess I can say "I was there when he was only at 2.8k" once we really hit a million 😂

[@Reinwolf23]

I dont think anyone knew how true this line would be when we first saw it: "I'll drop a beacon, but it'll be a while before anyone finds us." I only now realized she was talking to us Halo lovers.

[@AvenueStudios]

This was a great video man, loved it! I always thought a film on Noble Team leading up to the opening of the the game and the new Npble 7 would have been a great introductory film too. Mostly cuz I never believed anyone in Hollywood could handle the Master Chief as you've shown so Spartan III's give an opportunity to ease into a full Master Chief film! Oh well, we'll prolly never see a good one. I liked Forward Unto Dawn though and really enjoyed the 2 season podcast drama leading up to Halo 5 too bad they completely wasted all of that with the actual game...

[@NarrativeArcade]

Thanks man! And yeah, Halo 5 soured the taste for everyone because it was written by people who didn't wanna make Halo (like the Paramount writing room). I do plan to eventually produce a contained Halo short centered around the time when the Spartan-IIs are deployed for the first time. In parts my motivation for this video, so I know how to write it 😅. Man, this universe is so awesome and they do nothing with it but cookie cutter storytelling.

[@AvenueStudios]

@@NarrativeArcade 100% agree! Can't wait to see that short!

[@SELFF]

Finally a good video

[@wilder11]

Fascinating video man. At first I was worried your talk about genre would devolve into FIlmento-style gobbledygook. But I think you kind of nailed it. The Halo show broke my heart. You've helped articulate the deeper problems behind adapting Halo. Cut through all the modern hubris in Hollywood, and that sticky, disgusting zeitgeist we're all dealing with today. Earned a subscriber for sure.

[@NarrativeArcade]

Thanks! I think my biggest advantage is that I wrote a bunch of screenplays before launching this channel. I want to avoid any gobbledygook to begin with. What I state must be practical and actionable because that's what helped me writing and improving my own stuff. The irony with the Hollywood hubris is that everything I state here, I learned in Hollywood 😅every bit, down to even the 2D characterization. That's usually something used in serialized television. As I stated before in a comment: they simply decided to ignore their own lessons and jump off a cliff instead.

[@kellen-KMK]

I think your analysis of Halo is spot on. I hope Hollywood goes away as it stands now. And smaller independent creators rise. This way we can have someone that’s passionate about Halo, or at least respectful of it, to give us a great Halo movie then shows there after.

[@SmileyBoi21]

I always wondered if they will ever do an adaptation of Halo 2 how will they do it? In my opinion, it's easily the best game story-wise. The way I would do if you're doing a theatrical release is to split it into 2 parts to follow the Chief and Arbiter’s respectively. Then once it's run its course release it in a combined format with extended scenes like LoTR.

[@NarrativeArcade]

Bingo! And you bring em back together how I described it. The dynamic is the same. The two-dimensional character acts upon the three-dimensional one as a vector of change. Either the Chief or the Gravemind could take up that role to change the Arbiter. It's all possible, one must simply care for the source material. And you can translate gameplay into a visual medium. Some writers think they're above it though.

[@jacobgale4792]

I would kill for a theatrical rendition of Halo 2

[@TT-uy5el]

"10,000,000 BCE is almost the average age of members of congress" - I lol'd so hard. and yet so true and sad : (

[@maximumFLYINGcowbell]

I loved the covering of the genera, that felt very refreshing from other channels, good job. Im excited for your future videos after this. Fantastic stuff is all i can say.

[@kolehohenberger898]

This video is so well made. As a life long Halo fan I agree with everythign you mentioned. Its so sad the way Halo has been treated over the recent year. The bungie era Halo game/lore will forever be legendary.

[@AMOROLD]

This is it, we have to circulate this video. That mountain of garbage from Paramount it's a disgrace. This is what we need.