The game industry's focus may be on Halo: The Master Chief Collection right now, but there's another Halo project that has been slowly picking up steam since its announcement. Halo: Nightfall is a new live-action series set in the Halo universe, and could be the next push towards a feature film for the franchise. Produced by sci-fi legend Ridley Scott, Nightfall acts as the debut of Agent Locke and ties in with both The Master Chief Collection and next year's Halo 5. So far, the series looks like an evolution of previous live-action work based on the game.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has been rather stingy about releasing footage of Nightfall to the public. Until today, the most anyone outside of the production had seen were short clips or behind-the-scenes footage. However, after months of waiting, Microsoft has finally gone and released the first trailer for Halo: Nightfall.
While the Halo games tend to be about heroics and over-the-top action, Nightfall is wisely taking a darker and more human route. The trailer focuses on the introduction of Locke as a leader and his mission to the destroyed Halo ring. On top of that, it also features the return of the Covenant radicals from Halo 4 and reveals their new human-targeting biological weapon.
Surprisingly, parts of the trailer play out much like a science fiction horror film, which is a great change of pace for the franchise. Between the horror aspects, the biological weapon and the return to the original Halo, many fans have speculated that the parasitic Flood will make a grand return to the franchise. Considering most of Halo 3 was spent making sure that the Flood were gone for good, it could end up rustling more than a few feathers, but the parasite's inclusion could add a unique element to Nightfall's story.
The first season of Nightfall is set to follow Locke as he and his team return to the first Halo ring in order to find a cure for the Covenant's bio-weapon. From there, Locke will appear in a small role in The Master Chief Collection before becoming one of the main playable characters in Halo 5.
Going by the trailer, Nightfall could be a great way to pass the time before the next Halo game is released next year. The series will air weekly through Halo: The Master Chief Collection and the Halo Channel, and will debut on Nov. 11.
