Master Chief will be a "lead character" in the Halo TV show – just don’t expect a retread of the games

Despite being stuck in limbo for some time, the Halo TV show is finally lifting off – and early signs sure sound promising. A whole wave of new details have come flooding in, with everything from Master Chief’s place in the TV universe, to a potential release date and beyond all cropping up. So, when can we expect to finish the fight and, uhh, start the binge? Let’s take a look…

The series, which is mooted to premiere on Showtime, has been fleshed out somewhat thanks to a talk at the Television Critics’ Association (via /Film). Among the key reveals were Master Chief being a “lead character” in the TV franchise and “an important part of our series,” according to President of Programming at Showtime, Gary Levine. We can’t have a Halo show without John-117 now, can we?

As for the plot: it’s early days yet but expect the story to revolve around the men and women behind the Spartan armour, with it being an original story that still remains true to the beloved series. 

Levine explains: “It is a new story, but we are being incredibly respectful of the canon and working with Microsoft 343 people to be sure we don’t violate any of that… We also wanted to make sure we were getting underneath the armor of the Spartans to the human drama.” That instantly draws my mind to the litany of Halo novelisations out there which aim to dig deep behind the helmets of those trained from birth to, essentially, become killing machines – which is no bad thing.

So, when can we expect to see it? Surprisingly soon, actually. Levine indicates a 2020 release date as a very real possibility despite the Halo TV show being an “enormous undertaking.”

Whisper it, but with the network going all-in on their plans for this, could this be the best video game adaptation ever? Sound off down below and let us know what you think!