It’s been a long time coming in the realm of live-action Halo adaptations. After the incredible Landfall short film, series creators at Bungie cranked out a fair number of live-action promos for the games, but Microsoft’s flagship series never manifested on the big screen, or in the world of prestige television. Showtime’s upcoming adaptation looks to right that wrong.
Joining Pablo Schreiber, who will serve as the iconic Master Chief, Natascha McElhone (Californication) will play the dual-roles of Dr Catherine Halsey and the Chief’s stalwart AI companion Cortana. In the lore, Cortana is a creation of Halsey, so McElhone’s doubling up of roles makes sense. Bokeem Woodbine (Overlord, Fargo) joins the cast as Soren-066, a privateer whose “fate will bring him into conflict with his former military masters and his old friend, the Master Chief.” Old friend from poker nights? Military service? Book club? We’ll have to wait and see.
And there will indeed be a wait for Showtimes’ Halo, but the series is set to begin production this Fall, aiming for an early 2021 release.
Other cast members have been announced for more characters new to the Halo world. Shabana Azmi is Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence. A trio has also been cast to take up the MJOLNIR armor alongside the Master Chief; Bentley Kalu, Natasha Culzac, and Kate Kennedy will all be playing genetically-enhanced Spartan soldiers in the sci-fi epic.
Halo has always struck me as one of the video game franchises most-ripe for adaptation. A host to successful novels and other spin-off stories, the series is rich with lore and infinite in potential for new stories. Hopefully Showtime’s crack at the franchise will be worth the wait.
Halo TV series casts 2 actors to play familiar characters from game [Entertainment Weekly]
