Microsoft and Wingnut Films (Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh) have announced that they have shut down production on the movie adaptation of the best-selling Halo video game.  After Fox and Universal pulled out of the project two weeks ago (see 'Halo Movie in Limbo'), Microsoft and Wingnut continued their pre-production work at Weta Workshop and Weta Digital on the Halo project in hopes of quickly finding a studio partner to help with financing and distribution.  Unfortunately no studios have stepped up to the plate necessitating the decision to shut the project down.

All hope for the project is not lost.  Hollywood is currently undergoing another round of belt-tightening, so expensive projects such as the Halo film, a science fiction epic that would demand a good measure of special effects, are less attractive than it might have been back in 2004 when the box office was stronger and DVD sales still growing.  However, given that Microsoft has sold over 14 million units of the Halo game, the strong sales of Marvel's Halo Graphic Novel, and Peter Jackson's formidable track record, it certainly is possible that this project may find favor again with some studio or combination of studios in the near future.