AceShowbiz - A TV series based on popular video game series "Halo" is happening. Showtime has given a 10-episode series order to the long-gestating live-action project, the premium cable network announced on Thursday, June 28.

"Awake" creator Kyle Killen is attached as showrunner, executive producer and writer, joining fellow EP Rupert Wyatt ("Rise of the Planet of the Apes") who is also tapped to direct some episodes of the upcoming series. Also among the executive producers are Scott Pennington and Amblin TV's Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Meanwhile, Showtime, Microsoft/343 Industries and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television produce the series.

" 'Halo' is our most ambitious series ever, and we expect audiences who have been anticipating it for years to be thoroughly rewarded," Showtime CEO David Nevins said during the announcement.

He added, "In the history of television, there simply has never been enough great science fiction. Kyle Killen's scripts are thrilling, expansive and provocative; Rupert Wyatt is a wonderful, world-building director; and their vision of Halo will enthrall fans of the game while also drawing the uninitiated into a world of complex characters that populate this unique universe."

"Halo" TV project was first announced in 2013, hailing from Microsoft and Amblin Entertainment as part of its Xbox Live original content plans. Later in 2014, Showtime joined in before Xbox shut down its original television division altogether.

"Halo" video game franchise has sold more than 77 million copies worldwide so far. It grosses more than $5 billion in sales. The TV adaptation will share the same universe with the video game and will dramatize an epic 26th century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant. " 'Halo' will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future," Showtime shared in a statement.

The production of "Halo" TV series is set to start in early 2019.