(UTV | COLOMBO) -It spent many years stuck in development as a film before becoming a TV series, but once it got the go-ahead it seems the problems for the Paramount+ adaptation of Microsoft’s “HALO” video game franchise didn’t stop there.
THR reports that the series’ original showrunner Kyle Killen (“Lone Star”) asked producers Microsoft/343 Industries, Amblin Television and CBS Studios to hire a second showrunner in 2019.
The idea was that second person could oversee production on the ground in Budapest where filming was happening so Killen could focus on Stateside work like scripting and editing.
Steve Kane (“The Last Ship,” “The Closer”) took the position, and then Killen quietly departed the series in late 2019 leaving Kane the sole showrunner when production actually got underway.
Now, Kane will reportedly exit the series after the first season wraps filming in Budapest in a few weeks. Should the Pablo Schreiber-led series be renewed for a second season, a search for a new showrunner will begin.
Word of the exit joins the other behind-the-scenes issues that hit the series early on from director Rupert Wyatt exiting due to a conflict (and being replaced by Otto Bathurst), to the ten-episode series moving from Showtime to Paramount+.
The series showcases an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant. Despite the issues, the big-budget series remains on track for a 2022 premiere on the Paramount+ service.