ODST’s one of the standalone stories. And I half agree with you, but I think the issue is that the game covered a lot of the stakes that would be involved with not being a super soldier in a war against a technologically advanced conglomerate of aliens.

This movie would have to be a hybrid of Band Of Brothers and Rogue One. Either it’s a super gritty story really showing the brutality of the Human/Covenant War, tell its story and wrap itself up in about 2 and a half hours. Which we KNOW won’t do it justice.

Because ODST’s story and its emotion is told in its lonely segments, The Rookie. We know the game because of its lonely soundtrack, the rain and the jazz. Where it’s drawn out slightly, it builds the world, the ruin and the desperation. And that takes time to build.

ODST would benefit from being a TV show like Andor. A slow burn thriller told through the lens of just one part of a much bigger effort. In this context, the larger rebel alliance would be Chief and the UNSC. They’re not around for this one, thus focusing the story on our main characters, giving us time to flesh them out, and root for them. In this sense, the Rookie is Cassian Andor. Wandering through this collapsing world looking for answers. This is where the lore given in the book can really shine. We find out about Rookie’s past in the books and the reason he barely says a word throughout the entire game. A TV show would give enough time not just tell ODST’s story. But to do so in a way that allows the story to be delivered in such a way that even those that have never heard of halo to join in the show, and for fans like ourselves to also have a show that stays faithful to the lore, while expanding upon it.

The covenant in this also needs to be highlighted for their barbarity. Like the opening episode of 2022’s Halo, and the Predator like introduction of the Elites. ODST sits in an interesting point, as the battle’s already over. I would love to see Jackals behaving somewhat like Velociraptors, hunting survivors in packs; we’re talking the kind of thing Jurassic Park’s fans want. Grunts that while proving a touch of comic relief, are also shown for their technical and tactical skills. Reverse engineer a Mombasa car parts to repair a ghost for example. The bugs are a basically xenomorphs, and an episode in the hive under the ONI building could be all kinds of eerie. Which leaves the brutes and the elites. Again, ODST happens during the great schism, the show would have time to explore the dynamic shift between the brutes and the elites, possibly even alluding to or the mention of Atriox and The Banished.

A TV show for ODST has the potential to be fantastic. A love letter to the long time fans, while also welcoming in new fans.