First Look at Lead Character in 'Halo: Nightfall'

The Halo video game franchise helped launch Microsoft's Xbox way back in 2001 (damn I feel old) and it has been the centerpiece of their console systems ever since. With the studio making the bold move into feature films and web series, it only makes sense that Halo would again be at the heart of it, which is why two projects based on it are on the way. Ridley Scott is exec-producing Halo: Nightfall, a live-action digital film that ties into the overall war between humans and the Covenant, and now we have the first look at the lead character from it.

The image shows Mike Colter (The Good Wife) as Agent Locke, an enhanced super soldier whose team of Spartans "is sent to investigate terrorist activity on a distant colony world and are eventually drawn to an ancient, hellish artifact during their search." Locke is a new character to the mythology but will also play an integral role in the next game, Halo 5: Guardians, due out in the latter part of 2015.

The film will be directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan and constructed in web series style similar to Machinima's Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. It will be available on multiple platforms, including Xbox Live, and will probably be packaged as a whole on Blu-Ray/DVD by the end of 2014.  Microsoft also has Steven Spielberg's developing a live-action Halo series to be released in the near future. [Variety]