The Half-Life movie is still in stasis, but Valve writer Marc Laidlaw has revealed a dream list for directors capable of doing justice to the franchise in film.
Laidlaw states, "If Paul Verhoeven returned to science fiction films, he would do something insane with Half-Life...maybe something objectionably insane, but at least not boring. Peter Jackson has proved himself an amazing purveyor of faithful adaptations," according to a Gamespot report. "Guillermo del Toro has the horror vibe that I think a lot of people miss out on when thinking about a Half-Life movie. Half-Life is essentially horror after all. The science in it barely passes as hand-waving, but when a headcrab jumps at your head, it's a precisely engineered jolt."
In other recent Valve news, company CEO Gabe Newell confirmed the development of a new Source Engine. "We've been working on engine stuff for a while. We've just been waiting for a game to roll it out with," he says. Source 2 is not just an update, but a fresh proprietary engine from the ground up.
As for Half-Life 3, sources "close to Valve" revealed to French gaming site Jounaldugamer that the game's development has been "chaotic" and that Valve's vision for the sequel has shifted several times.
The source also notes that "Half-Life 3 will always be very action-oriented, but with many RPG elements: open-world, quests and NPCs will be waiting for you! One of the inspirations [for] the developers would also be the series of Elder Scrolls (Skyrim, Oblivion)," however this report should be taken with a grain of salt, as Valve has made not official statements regarding Gordon Freeman's next adventure.