The Halo universe has five times been adapted into novel form, with two more in the works. Larry Niven (author of Ringworld) was originally approached to write the novelization, but declined due to unfamiliarity with the universe.[14] The first adaption was Halo: The Fall of Reach—a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, written by Eric Nylund and published during October 2001.[15] The novel was reportedly finished in seven weeks,[15] eventually becoming a Publishers Weekly bestseller with nearly two hundred thousand copies sold.[16] The second novel, entitled Halo: The Flood, served as an adaptation of Halo: Combat Evolved. Written by William C. Dietz, this novel also attained the Publishers Weekly bestsellers list during May 2003.[17]
Eric Nylund returned to write the third novel, Halo: First Strike, a sequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, or, more accurately, a prequel to Halo 2. It was published in December 2003,[18] after being written in a period of sixteen weeks.[16] A fourth novel, entitled Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, written again by Eric Nylund was published on October 31, 2006.[19] making The New York Times bestsellers list. The Halo universe was adapted into the graphic novel format in the Halo Graphic Novel, a collection of four short stories, released during July 2006.[20] It was written and illustrated by well-known graphic novelists Lee Hammock, Jay Faerber, Tsutomu Nihei, Brett Lewis, Simon Bisley, Ed Lee and Jean Giraud. Bungie Studios considers the Halo novels as canon.[21] Bungie has also announced at least two more Halo books on the way both to be published by TOR, one of which may be about Grey Team, who were sent on a mission far outside the confines of UNSC space, and have been missing for over a year as of 2552, which was told in Ghost Of Onyx. Eric Nylund has admitted he is interested in telling their story.
Joseph Staten announced that he is writing a book that revolves around the events during 2525, the initial contact with the Covenant. The book, entitled Halo: Contact Harvest, is told from the perspective of young Sergeant Avery Johnson, and is said to be on shelves by Fall 2007.
At the New York Comic-Con 2007, Marvel Comics announced they will be working on "Halo ongoing series" with Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.[22]
Also are smaller Halo comics like the Halo Story developed on an extra Bungie website. Other adaptations of the sprites used in this comic can be seen all over the internet such as on the profile of Minisplits at RoosterTeeth.com who has earned over 1,000 profile views thus far thanks to his comics.
Numerous action figures and vehicles based on Halo have been produced by Joyride Studios and includes, among others, the Master Chief. Bungie's new action figures for Halo 3 will be produced by McFarlane. Also, Bungie has teamed up with WizKids to make a new game called Halo ActionClix. The 3D tabletop game features detailed sculpts with dials that track a unit's health and statistics.[23]
An upcoming film adaption of the series. The script for the movie was to be written by Alex Garland,[24] though writer D.B. Weiss, author of Lucky Wander Boy is currently set to rewrite it, using elements of the Garland draft.[25] The movie was to be developed and released by Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox, under the creative oversight of Microsoft, but there have been complications with the distributors, and it is subject to change.[26] Peter Jackson will be the executive producer.[27] The movie is expected to release 2009, due to difficulties in selecting a director for the project.[28] The director has since been revealed as Neill Blomkamp.[28]
Recently the project has been postponed at the agreement of both Jackson and Microsoft.[29] However, production was halted due to financing problems in October 2006.[30]
I Love Bees (aka The Haunted Apiary, in some circles) was an alternate reality game used to promote the release of Halo 2. The game was centered on a website at ilovebees.com, and was created by 4orty2wo Entertainment, commissioned by Microsoft and endorsed by Bungie. The URL was discovered when it was briefly flashed in an official Halo 2 trailer.
Iris is another alternate reality game and viral marketing campaign for the upcoming release of Halo 3 and is in the same vein as I Love Bees for Halo 2.
As a highly popular video game with a large and active fan base, the Halo games have been host to a wide array of video productions. These include many videos from the emerging entertainment medium of machinima. Virtually all footage is taken from Halo and Halo 2 game play. Most are set outside Halo canon, though some are based on Fan Fiction closely relating to the official Canon.
The most notable of these is the comedy series Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles, created by Rooster Teeth Productions, a series that parodies the Halo universe. It has achieved an unparalleled level of success in Halo machinima, and attracts some non-Halo fans as well. The series ended on June 28, 2007.
Other machinima series—ranging from Fire Team Charlie, another comedy, to The Codex, a space opera more closely tied to Halo canon, as well as the in-game interview show This Spartan Life—have also been created.
Throughout the franchise, the music and audio, composed by Martin O'Donnell, has received enthusiastic response.[31][32] Three soundtracks, all composed by Martin O'Donnell, have been released based on the Halo game series.
The Halo Original Soundtrack contains most of the music found in the game. Due to the nature of gameplay, the music present was designed to use the game's dynamic audio playback engine. The engine allows for the mood, theme, and duration of music played to change according to changes in the gameplay.[33] In order to afford a more enjoyable listening experience, O'Donnell rearranged some of the music of Halo into standalone suites, which follow the narrative course of the game.[34] The soundtrack also contains some music that was never in the game, including a variation on the Halo theme that was first played at Halo's debut at Macworld 1999.[34]
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