While the Halo movie project lost the studio support of both Fox and Universal and the movie was officially postponed, the latest word from Variety is that the movie is actually still alive.

Peter Jackson's representative Ken Kamins has revealed that Microsoft is currently in talks with new distribution partners. Moreover, Kamins said that pre-production is underway with Weta Digital and Weta Workshop working on the movie.

According to Kamins, the studios pulled out because they couldn't reach a deal with Microsoft on the share of profits for the film. "Basically, they said that in order to move forward with the film, the filmmakers had to significantly reduce their deals. They waited until the last minute to have this conversation. Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungie, respectfully declined," he said.

Kamins also reiterated the importance of the proposed director Neill Blomkamp: "Part of what excited Peter and Fran was Neill's vision. We're very confident this film will move forward with the creative partners intact, who will take the film to production."

Sources: Kotaku, Play