I just read an article in Newsweek that made me alarmed and disappointed. Being a huge fan of the Halo franchise, I was pleased as punch to hear a while back that Peter Jackson was tapped to produce it. That guaranteed, in my mind, that it wouldn’t turn into some kind of poorly acted, overly special effects-laden holocaust of George Lucas proportions.

I may be wrong. I hope I’m not. But I think I may be wrong. Master Chief, so it seems, will be relegated to a minor role in the upcoming film. While script writer and Halo novelist Joseph Staten seems to be patting himself on the back and calling this a great idea, I can think of only one term to describe such a move: Cinematic Suicide.

My prediction: Should this movie be done without Master Chief, Cortana, and their partnership at the heart of the tale, it will tank. Introducing some new Marine grunt as a main character when fans have already latched on so wholeheartedly to the heroes of the Haloverse would be a catastrophic decision, both from an economic and storytelling perspective.

What astonishes me is that Bungie would even consider a story that treated John -117 as “a really wonderful source of mystery, a sort of anonymous problem solver.” Yeah, ’cause that’s what moviegoers want to spend ten bucks on: anonymous action by an unseen character. Yep. I love movies about clueless shmucks running around mystified by a far more interesting cyborg supersoldier who I get to hear about but not actually see. Let me get my wallet out. I can’t wait!

They’ve released three fantastic games with a compelling plot that has impacted youth culture in a way that rivals that of Star Wars when it burst onto the scene back in 1977. The Halo story is a true modern legend, one that has firmly established its place in the mythos of our literature and culture.

In particular, treating Master Chief as a side character will result in the even more detrimental marginalization of the character of Cortana. Her intimacy with John, and the intensity of their partnership bond, is the most compelling and emotionally moving aspect of the story arc. To anyone other than John, Cortana is merely a comrade-at-arms; a smart AI who gives them juicy tips in battle. Her vulnerability, her power, her wit, and her intense devotion to her partner will be impossible to convey, as will be John’s similar feelings for her.

Both characters are almost, but not quite, human. Their mutual inability to ever truly belong to human society, and the invincibility their partnership offers, is what gamers can identify with on a visceral level. The loneliness each of them expresses, and the sense of comfort and strength they provide to one another, is something fans can resonate with.

Without Master Chief and Cortana as the stars of the show, it’s just one more movie about soldiers shooting up aliens with mind-numbing PG-13 testosterone-fueled wisecracks. It’ll make money, but it won’t be art. And it won’t be worthy of the legend Bungie worked so hard to create.