At E3 2014 on June 9th, 2014, the new Halo feature being executively produced by Ridley Scott was confirmed as ‘Halo: Nightfall’, and the first episode will be released on the ‘Halo: The Master Chief Collection’ game which is due out on 11th November 2014.

Nightfall is not connected to the upcoming Halo TV series by Steven Spielberg, which is due out in the Autumn of 2015 to coincide with the release of ‘Halo 5: Guardians’, but 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross did have this to say to Eurogamer,

“Halo 5: Guardians features a new Spartan character, called Agent Locke. He plays a “key role” in the game, she said. But what role? Halo Nightfall, the digital series produced by Ridley Scott, will tell his origin story. Expect the first episode to come out with Halo: The Master Chief Collection on 11th November 2014, with subsequent episodes released in the weeks after the game’s launch.”

Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free Productions, will be co-releasing the digital feature along with 343 Industries and Xbox Entertainment Studios. Joining Scott on the production team is executive producer David W. Zucker (The Good Wife, Numb3rs) and director Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Battlestar Galactica, Falling Skies).

Nightfall is expected to follow the same format as the 2012 live-action web series/feature-length film ‘Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn’, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Forward Unto Dawn is a 5-part web-series that debuted on the Machinima Prime YouTube channel and to date has stacked up 33.8 million views across the 5 episodes. The series  reportedly cost between $8.5M – $10M and was later released as a feature-length film on BluRay and DVD. 343 Industries did not divulge specific sales, but reported that the uptake was ‘good’ while also stating that the series dubeted at No.9 on iTunes.

 Filming for Nightfall has started in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but it is unclear as to whether Belfast will be the sole location for the film. Belfast is home to Titanic Studios which has been used for all 4 seasons of Game Of Thrones, and could possibly be used before Game Of Thrones starts filming again this summer.

Source

• http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/ridley-scotts-halo-digital-feature-being-shot-in-belfasts-titanic-quarter-30323063.html
• http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-4-forward-unto-dawn-draws-55-million-views/1100-6405963/
• http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-16-343s-master-plan-for-halo-5-guardians