It’s been an oddly big week for news about video game adaptations. Let’s jump straight into the most recent set of announcements from the worlds of streaming television, film, gaming and comics.

Television

Arguably the most high profile reveal of the past week was the first full trailer for the live-action Halo show, coming to Paramount+ from March 24. This looooong-awaited adaptation of the iconic Xbox sci-fi shooter series centres on the 26th-Century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant. Helping humanity fight back are a band of super soldiers, the Spartans, who have been trained, programmed and genetically enhanced since childhood. The greatest among them is towering Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber), who is starting to break from his programing.

Remember American McGee’s Alice, that stylish action-adventure game that released back in 2000, and reimagined Lewis Carroll’s classic children books as a dark, twisted, Tim Burton-esque nightmare? X-Men scribe and Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter is attempting to adapt the old EA title (and presumably its sequel) for the small screen. No broadcaster or streaming service is attached to the project yet, but you can read more about it here.

There’s also no network or studio attached to the new TV and film adaptations planned for It Takes Two, but production company dj2 Entertainment is likely going to change that soon. dj2 is working with game maker Hazelight Studios to adapt their Game of the Year winner about a couple who, on the brink of divorce, are transformed into miniature dolls and must suddenly work together to return to normal.

dj2 is also behind the Sonic the Hedgehog films, upcoming Tomb Raider anime series at Netflix, and WIP adaptations of Disco Elysium and Sleeping Dogs. More here.

Finally, 10 images have been released from upcoming Season 2 of historical LGBT+ romance Gentleman Jack. The BBC and HBO collaboration, from writer-director-producer Sally Wainwright, is based on the coded journals of 19th Century Yorkshire landowner, entrepreneur and mountaineer Anne Lister (played by Suranne Jones). Strong-willed Lister defied convention and set up home with wealthy, but emotionally fragile heiress Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle). In Season 2, with violent worker unrest looming, their union stirs controversy and brings Lister’s previous lady loves out of the woodwork.

The eight-episode second season of Gentleman Jack will screen on BBC One sometime in the Northern Hemisphere Spring; its HBO date has yet to be announced.

Film

Appropriate for the start of Black History Month, this week, we got our first look at historical action epic The Woman King courtesy of star Viola Davis’s Twitter account. Set in the 19th Century, The Woman King puts the spotlight on the powerful African kingdom of Dahomey, in the region that is now southern Benin. Regarded as a “Black Sparta,” the Kingdom of Dahomey was famous for its ferocious all-woman military unit, called the Mino, and known in the West as the Dahomey Amazons. Davis plays its general, while South Africa’s Thuso Mbedu is an ambitious recruit, and John Boyega plays real-life King Ghezo.

Filmed in South Africa, and directed by The Old Guard’s Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Woman King hits cinemas on September 16.

In other movie news, Netflix isn’t done with He-Man after two animated series (excluding She-Ra and the Princesses of Power). Stepping up to make a live-action Masters of the Universe, the streamer has found its live-action He-Man (and timid alter ego Prince Adam) in the form of West Side Story star Kyle Allen. The Masters of the Universe movie will go into production in mid-2022, and honestly sounds about as faithful to the Mattel franchise as the old 1987 film starring Dolph Lundgren.

Evidently a chunk of the action will be set in our world, based on the plot synopsis: An orphan named Adam… discovers he is a prince destined to be the savior of a far-away land and must quickly learn how to use his power to save his home from the evil Skeletor.

More here.

Gaming

Biggest news of the week: following Microsoft’s announcement of its industry-shaking plans to buy Activision Blizzard, Sony is snapping up Destiny (and original Halo) developers Bungie for $3.6 billion. While Bungie will retain creative freedom, the plan apparently is to leverage the studio’s extensive and successful experience with the Games as a Service model for PlayStation. More on the story here.

Now some other gaming news bits and bobs:

In a surprise announcement, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been pushed out to 2023. This despite the game being positioned as one of this year’s action adventure biggies from Warner Bros. Games.

Also a surprise, but not an unpleasant one, is the release of a special Rambo crossover for Far Cry 6. Playable right now solo or in co-op, Dani joins a Rambo superfan against the Yaran military in a blood-soaked rampage straight out of an over-the-top 80’s action movie. By completing the new free mission, players will unlock the exclusive Vengeance Bow that’s especially effective against helicopters and other heavy units.

Meanwhile, Assassin’s Creed is coming to massively popular mobile game Free Fire in March. More details will be shared soon, but the summary is that Free Fire players can look forward to a special in-game experience featuring iconic characters from the Assassin’s Creed franchise. More here.

Books and comics

If you missed backing the two-book TUKI series from Bone creator Jeff Smith last year, you’re in luck. In the lead-up to the release of Book Two, TUKI: Fight for Family, this June, there’s a new mini campaign, for new readers to jump on board – and get two original graphic novels.

Set at the dawn of humanity, and centred on prehistoric man, TUKI draws together the fantastic heroes of pulp fiction, mythical lost realms and human evolution. Back the project here.