Halo, the long-running video game franchise, has often been praised for its fun story and engaging characters. Due to this, live-action adaptations have been in the works for years with the goal of being able to market the story to those who simply don’t or won’t touch video games. Despite the popularity of the series, and the solid groundwork they have laid out for storytelling, adaptations of this franchise have struggled to ever truly get off the ground. The most recent attempt on Paramount, however, looks as though it’s likely to actually premiere soon, although there hasn’t actually been much in the way of information on the series as of yet.
In 2001, Bungie launched the sci-fi franchise of games with Halo: Combat Evolved. The inventive first-person shooter was an immediate success and sequels were soon to follow. As the franchise changed hands over time, and Microsoft saw several studio heads rotate through, talks of live-action adaptations were started and halted multiple times. Big names of the likes of Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, and Neil Blomkamp have been attached over the years, with many of these dropping out to work on various other projects instead.
The History of the Halo TV Series
Halo has actually seen two different, completed, live-action attempts at adaptations so far. One of these was Halo: Forward Unto Dawn, produced by 343 Studios and Microsoft to promote the release of Halo 4. Forward Unto Dawn told the story of recruits caught in a Covenant attack on a fictional planet in the Halo universe, and their ensuing rescue by Master Chief. This online series was praised for its CGI and practical effects as well as telling a story that felt right at home in the canon of Halo.
Following the success that was this series, another series was planned to promote the next release in the franchise, Halo 5. Halo: Nightfall was released in 2014 and told the tale of Spartan Locke leading up to the events of Halo 5. While many were excited for this series considering the big names attached to it, Ridley Scott served as executive producer, it was ultimately poorly received. Many cited the low-quality CGI in the series as well as a story that often didn’t quite make sense.
With this uneven ground, Microsoft announced a new Halo series in 2013 that they would be developing in collaboration with Steven Spielberg. This series went on to be picked up by Showtime after Xbox shuttered their live-action television division. Following multiple delays for unknown reasons, work on the project actually began in 2018 and would reportedly be a story starring Master Chief in the Halo canon. After picking up some steam, however, the project was put on hold once more due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While in limbo, the series was picked up by Paramount to premiere on their service Paramount Plus.
When Is The Halo Series Releasing?
With Microsoft saying the series would be coming for the past 8 years, it was never quite certain when fans would actually get a chance to see the project come to fruition. Despite numerous delays, it does seem as though the series will finally be coming out. A recent teaser posted to Twitter showcased the live-action Master Chief armor while revealing that the show would premier sometime in 2022. While this isn’t a hard date by any means, it is more confirmation than has been shown up to now.
Who Is Starring In The Halo Series?
Although the full wait time is unknown, the cast of the series has been announced. Pablo Schreiber will be in the lead role as John, AKA Master Chief. Schreiber, a half-brother of Liev Schreiber, has previously been seen in Orange Is the New Black and Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Many other major characters from the Halo franchise will make appearances, with Natascha McElhone playing Dr. Catherine Halsey, Olive Gray playing Miranda Keyes, and Danny Sapani playing Captain Jacob Keyes. Jen Taylor will also be reprising her role from the games as the voice of the AI Cortana.
What Is The Plot Of The Halo Series?
Little has actually been revealed about the plot of the Halo series, with most announcements simply stating that it will follow Master Chief after the Covenant attack humanity in the 16th century. Based on this logline and the cast list, it’s likely the series will either cover Master Chief’s origins through the storyline of the first game or feature the storyline of the first game while showing flashbacks to his origins.
Although not much is actually known about the upcoming series, fans are still cautiously optimistic. The short teaser seems to showcase a fairly solidly built suit of armor. Although the series has been in the works for some time, it hasn’t actually been in production for all that time. The fact that production was only actually started more recently leans toward this adaptation having a more solid chance than some others. As to whether the finished quality will be something worth getting Paramount Plus for, only time will tell.
Halo will release on Paramount Plus in 2022.