Rumored Sony Acquisition Could Involve Halo

gamerant.com:

Sony might be looking to acquire fellow media juggernaut Paramount, and this could affect the Halo live-action TV series. Halo isn’t typically associated with Sony due to the former being a flagship property of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming brand and the latter being the parent company for Xbox’s primary rival PlayStation, so such a development would certainly be a twist. For the past two decades, Halo has been one of gaming’s most seminal FPS franchises, spawning not only six mainline entries but an assortment of spin-off games and tie-in media.

This would eventually lead to a live-action Halo TV series, which finally premiered on Paramount+ in early 2022 after a long and difficult production cycle. Featuring Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, the series takes place in an alternate timeline from the main Halo games and explores the Chief’s role in the growing war between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant. Longtime Halo fans were left divided over the show’s different take on the Halo series lore, but a second season was released on Paramount+ earlier this year.

A third Halo season hasn’t been greenlit yet, but there could be a major change-up to its parent company by the time it is. The New York Times recently reported that Sony Pictures Entertainment and an investment firm called Apollo Global Management are currently in talks to form a joint bid to acquire Paramount Pictures, at least according to a pair of sources familiar with the situation. Previously, Apollo attempted to purchase Paramount by itself for at least $26 billion, but this offer was rejected.

So far, any attempts to acquire Paramount have run into complications thanks to a previous partnership with Skydance Media, who is currently working alongside Paramount to produce the next GI Joe and Star Trek films as well as a live-action Rainbow Six adaptation. According to inside sources, Skydance is currently discussing its own exclusive deal with Paramount, meaning that an