Some very exciting news today, gamers. Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks studio are reportedly trying to obtain the screen rights to make a Halo movie!

The New York Magazine movie blog Vulture claims that, in an effort to avoid getting drawn into a legal quagmire with previous Halo studios Universal and Fox, DreamWorks is looking to use the Halo novel tie-ins as the source material for a revived film.That way, neither studio can sue DreamWorks claiming they're owed money from Spielberg and Co. for capitalizing on their development of a joint film adaptation that imploded back in 2006.As Vulture reports, "that residual anger over the wasted money is the big reason why DreamWorks is so explicitly saying its project is based on the books: By citing 'different' source material, it preemptively neutralizes any attempt by Universal lawyers to demand that the new studio reimburse its $12 million in development costs. Oh, you were doing a movie on that Halo? Yeah, we're doing something else entirely. More literary. Another helpful side effect of using the books is that it appeases Microsoft , which authorizes them all; it shows them that DreamWorks takes the canon seriously (even if the process ends with a completely original script). [Former Universal Pictures chairman Stacey] Snider, who declined to comment for this story, is now CEO of DreamWorks, and knows from her days ushering Halo through Universal the importance of keeping Microsoft happy."The site adds that no screenwriter has been set yet, but reminds us that Pirates of the Caribbean and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra screenwriter Stuart Beattie penned a spec script adaptation of the novel Halo: The Fall of Reach back during the writers' strike of '07. Hmmmm.However, as Vulture points out, there's plenty of reason to think that Microsoft doesn't really want a Halo movie, even with the likes of Oscar winner Spielberg involved, because they don't want to muck with their $2 billion brand. But if there's anyone who might be able to appease them, it's Steven Spielberg.An avid gamer, Spielberg's name has been associated with the Halo movie in the past. Rumors swirled last year that Spielberg was smitten with Beattie's spec, but then Microsoft issued a statement tossing a bucket of cold water on that fanboy firestorm. We'll have to wait and see if things have changed since then.