An adaptation of the popular video game series HALO has been in the works for a long time. For those who are unfamiliar with HALO, it started out as a typical marines-vs-aliens stories with a twist that there was a deadlier group of aliens called The Flood that would turn both humans and aliens into horrific zombie creatures. You played as Master Chief, a marine out to save the galaxy.

When we last reported on the Showtime series back in December, director Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) had departed the show. Now it looks like they’ve found a new helmer with Otto Bathurst on board to direct the pilot and several other episodes of the series. Bathurst’s previous credits include last year’s Robin Hood as well as the Black Mirror episode “The National Anthem”. Hiring Bathurst makes sense when you consider he’s not only familiar with TV, but he’s also launched other shows. He directed the first three episodes of Peaky Blinders and the first three episodes of Criminal Justice. If you’re looking to get a HALO series off the ground, he’s a sensible choice for the job.

HALO is set to begin production this year with an initial nine-episode order. Showtime will produce in partnership with 343 Industries (the current developers of the video games) along with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment Television.

Personally, I’m curious to see what they do with this series. HALO started out as a pretty basic space marines story, but they’ve had to develop the mythology over the course of multiple games. Will the TV show hew closely to that mythology to appease the fans, or will they redo it to try and reach a broader audience? There’s a delicate balance with any adaptation, but especially with video games, which have yet to see a truly great adaptation in movies or TV.