Microsoft announced at Comic-Con 2009 that it was overseeing production of a series of seven short anime films, together called Halo Legends. Financed by 343 Industries, the animation was created by five Japanese production houses: Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio 4АC, and Toei Animation. Shinji Aramaki, creator and director of Appleseed and Appleseed Ex Machina, serves as the project's creative director. Warner Bros. will distribute Legends on DVD and Blu-ray in early 2010,[68] Six of the stories are officially part of the Halo canon, with the seventh, made by Toei, is intended to be a parody of the universe

Microsoft has endorsed and is helping bring a Halo film project to fruition. Unfortunately it is not the one everyone has been waiting on pins and needles for.
The new project is titled Halo Legends and consists of a series of animated shorts that explore different times and conflicts within the Halo universe. Think of Halo Legends to Halo as The Animatrix is to The Matrix.

The animated studios bringing Halo Legends to life include Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., STUDIO4'C, and Toei Animation.

The first previews of Halo Legends will be released via Xbox Live with the complete series coming digitally the same way, and via disc on presumably Blu-ray Disc and DVD, sometime in 2010

The Halo-verse just got bigger. Microsoft is producing Halo Legends, an anime-style series comprised of seven short films that expand the story behind the wildly popular videogame franchise.

Five production houses in Japan -- Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio4 C, and Toei Animation -- are handling the animation, while Microsoft's creative staff is handling the approval for the visuals and storytelling, the software maker announced today.

"The opportunity to work with talents such as Shinji Aramaki, Mamoru Oshii and others from some of the greatest anime studios is a very rare opportunity for Microsoft," said Frank O'Connor, Halo franchise development director and provider of story and creative direction for 343 Industries.

"We've seen the world through Master Chief's eyes, and we've experienced facets of the universe through a variety of literary prisms, but now we get to watch new tales unfold in really rich, visually dynamic ways. I think anime fans and Halo fans alike are in for a real treat."

Few story details have emerged, but the Los Angeles times has the broad strokes. Shinji Aramaki, one of the creative directors working with Microsoft on the project, is crafting a short that will detail the history of the Spartan warrior class.

Another installment from Studio4 C, "Origins," is a two-part film. The two 30-minutes segements tell "the entire 100,000 year history of the Halo universe."

"I think the core Halo fans will recognize key moments from the universe never shown in the game," he said. "They're moments where people wanted more depth. That's where this fits," O'Connor explains.

Warner Bros. will distribute Halo Legends on DVD, Blu-ray, and digitally in early 2010. Xbox Live fans can catch a preview of the anime this fall.

The first look at Halo Legends will be revealed during the Halo panel at Comic-Con on Thursday.

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