The Halo TV series from Showtime is finally gaining some momentum, as the show has confirmed most of its cast as well as a release window for its series premiere. As announced by Showtime, the Halo TV series will premiere in the first quarter of 2021, with filming expected to start later this year.
As for the cast, we already knew that Orange is the New Black and The Wire star Pablo Schreiber is playing Master Chief, but now some other important roles have been cast as well. Cortana, Master Chief's faithful AI companion and an iconic character from the video game series, will be played by British actress Natascha McElhone. McElhone, perhaps best known for her roles in Californication and Designated Survivor, will also be playing Dr. Catherine Halsey in the Halo TV series.
Additionally, Bokeem Woodbine has been cast as Soren-066, who has appeared in Halo media outside of the video games, and Shabana Azmi has been cast as Admiral Margaret Parangosky. Bentley Kalu, Natasha, Culzac, and Kate Kennedy have all been cast as brand new Spartans created specifically for the TV show, named Vannak-134, Riz-028, and Kai-125, respectively.
This is certainly big news for the Halo TV series, but much of the show is still shrouded in mystery. Specific plot details are still unavailable, though that's not surprising since filming hasn't even started.
What we do know about the Halo TV series is that it is taking inspiration from Game of Thrones, and that the first season will be at least 10 episodes. We also know that director Rupert Wyatt has abandoned the project, replaced by Otto Bathurst.
Beyond those details, there's not much else we know definitively about the Halo TV series from Showtime. However, now that we know that the show will likely start filming by the end of the year with a planned premiere date of early 2021, more details should start coming to light. And if the Halo TV series lives up to expectations, one has to imagine that the door would then be wide open for television adaptations of some of Microsoft's other IP.
Halo will premiere on Showtime in Q1 of 2021.
Image Source: Three Degrees West Productions - With Creative Commons License