Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Marathon assassin runner shell holding knife
FPS Games Bungie doesn't want Marathon to repeat Destiny 2's vaulting controversy: "It doesn't matter when you join"
Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby riding a horse in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Crime Shows Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man director explains how the Netflix movie differs from the show
A close up of a blue woman Runner during the Marathon game PS5 reveal.
FPS Games Marathon lead shuts down claims that nobody who worked on Halo was involved in Bungie's latest FPS
Xbox Gamescom 2023 logo featuring a stylized city skyline in green
Games Xbox will be "sunsetted" under new CEO, co-founder expects: "Her job is going to be as a palliative care doctor"
Kyle MacLachlan as Hank MacLean in Fallout season 2.
Sci-Fi Shows Fallout season 2, episode 7 ending: what's inside Hank's mainframe, explained
Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin unmasked in The Mandalorian and Grogu
Star Wars Movies Pedro Pascal says it makes "perfect sense" for Din Djarin to remove his helmet in The Mandalorian and Grogu
God of War Ragnarok
Fantasy Shows Everything we know about Amazon's God of War TV show, including the Kratos casting
A young James Bond smirks in 007 First Light with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 branding frame
Action Games 007 First Light will do something no Bond game has done before – slow down: "Players might be surprised"
Exodus
RPGs More than Mass Effect's spiritual successor, Exodus wants to pull decades of player choice into a single story
Gears of War: E-Day gameplay screenshot showing a blood soaked Marcus and Dom
Gears of War The Coalition believes that Gears of War: E-Day "has the potential to be one of the best stories in the Gears franchise"
Halo: Combat Evoled screenshot showing a grunt running away from an explosion in the sand
Games The head of Xbox Game Studios on Developer Direct reveals, multiplatform strategy, and hard lessons learned from 2025
Halo: Campaign Evolved keyart showing Master Chief on Installation 04
Halo Halo: Campaign Evolved is a faithful remake tasked with relaunching a legendary franchise for a new generation of players
Marathon screenshots
FPS Games Bungie shows off Marathon's reworked "Runner Shell" classes, and I'm still worried about invisibility and wall hacks
Halo
Games Xbox co-founder says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has "a hammer called gen AI" and "there's a nail with an Xbox logo"
Helldivers 2 soldier in intro animation with shocked expression
Third Person Shooters John Helldiver is Arrowhead canon thanks to Helldivers 2 players: "Named by the community"
  1. Entertainment
  2. TV
  3. Action Shows
  4. Halo

Halo TV series showrunner on why seeing Master Chief’s face is important to the story

News
By Tara Bennet Contributions from Bradley Russell published 22 March 2022

Steven Kane speaks to SFX about John-117 taking off his helmet

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Halo TV series
(Image credit: Paramount)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Halo showrunner Steven Kane has explained the reasons behind seeing Master Chief’s face in the upcoming Paramount Plus series during a new interview with SFX Magazine.

"We’re going to tell a story about the man inside the helmet," Kane says. "If you read a book about the Master Chief, and there are many, they talk about him so you’re getting inside his head in a way that you wouldn’t get from playing the game. If you can give people that privileged point of view, why can’t you let them see his face?"

Master Chief, also known as John-117, has almost always kept his helmet on and his face covered in the video game series. The more introspective story of the Spartan (played by Pablo Schreiber in the TV show) has dictated a shift in thinking on the creative team’s part.

You may like
  • Halo Master Chief actor didn't like Halo 5's misleading ads because they made it harder to "stay true to the character"
  • Halo: Campaign Evolved gameplay screenshot showing Master Chief in Unreal Engine 5 Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming to PS5 because the FPS is "best played when we have a large, healthy community"
  • Halo Halo Master Chief actor tells AI to keep its filthy paws off of his voice: "That's where we cross a line"

"The series is not about the game version of Master Chief," Kane continues. "It’s about the character of Master Chief in a three-dimensional, cinematic world. We leaned into it as heavily as we can, because doing a story about Master Chief’s humanity required you to get under the helmet. It became part of the structure; form and content went together."

Halo is set to premiere on Paramount Plus in the US on March 24. UK details currently TBC.

For more on SFX’s Halo feature, including an interview with Pablo Schreiber, plus more on Marvel’s new Moon Knight series, be sure to pick up the latest issue of SFX – available March 23. You can also take advantage of our cut-price digital and print bundles and take SFX wherever you go.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Tara Bennet
With contributions from
  • Bradley RussellSenior Entertainment Writer
Read more
Halo
Halo Master Chief actor didn't like Halo 5's misleading ads because they made it harder to "stay true to the character"
 
 
Halo: Campaign Evolved gameplay screenshot showing Master Chief in Unreal Engine 5
Halo Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming to PS5 because the FPS is "best played when we have a large, healthy community"
 
 
Halo
Halo Halo Master Chief actor tells AI to keep its filthy paws off of his voice: "That's where we cross a line"
 
 
Halo: Campaign Evolved keyart showing Master Chief on Installation 04
Halo Halo: Campaign Evolved is a faithful remake tasked with relaunching a legendary franchise for a new generation of players
 
 
New Overwatch hero Emre
Halo Halo veterans find a home in Overwatch's new DPS hero, prompting fans to call for an official Master Chief crossover
 
 
Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin unmasked in The Mandalorian and Grogu
Star Wars Movies Pedro Pascal says it makes "perfect sense" for Din Djarin to remove his helmet in The Mandalorian and Grogu
 
 
Latest in Action Shows
Hal Jordan's brownish Green Lantern uniform hanging in a closet
DC TV Shows Green Lantern legend Grant Morrison also isn't a fan of the Lanterns trailer
 
 
Hitman: Codename 47
Action Shows John Wick creator says the Hitman TV show is "dead in the water": "It's a little bit of a dagger in the chest"
 
 
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad in Assassin's Creed
Action Shows Netflix's Assassin's Creed show adds Mission: Impossible and Prometheus stars, and we'd put money on one being a Templar
 
 
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again season 2 sees New York City turn against Kingpin in explosive new TV spot
 
 
White Vision in WandaVision
Marvel TV Shows VisionQuest star says the upcoming MCU show realizes that "Marvel gets rewarded when it takes really big swings"
 
 
Aaron Pierre as John Stewart in Lanterns
DC Movies Green Lantern John Stewart is joining the cast of Man of Tomorrow as Aaron Pierre signs on for the Superman sequel
 
 
Latest in News
Hal Jordan's brownish Green Lantern uniform hanging in a closet
DC TV Shows Green Lantern legend Grant Morrison also isn't a fan of the Lanterns trailer
 
 
Assassin's Creed Animus
Games Assassin's Creed director says "maybe the future is, to use the dirty word, AI vibe-coding"
 
 
Nvidia DLSS 5 version of Grace from Resident Evil Requiem
Games Nvidia announces DLSS 5 in uncanny video with obvious AI filter, Todd Howard joins devs hyping it
 
 
Mortal Kombat movie
Action Movies Mortal Kombat 2 star Lewis Tan responds to new dig from Street Fighter's Cody Rhodes: "Almost spilled my drink laughing"
 
 
A character in power armor talks to Dogmeat in Fallout 4
Fallout Bethesda vets "wouldn't be surprised" if Fallout 5 was outsourced
 
 
Final Fantasy 14
Final Fantasy 1,200 hours in, Final Fantasy 14 fan trying to beat the MMO under RuneScape's Ironman rules clears biggest obstacle yet
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Hal Jordan's brownish Green Lantern uniform hanging in a closet
    1
    Green Lantern legend Grant Morrison also isn't a fan of the Lanterns trailer
  2. 2
    Mortal Kombat 2 star Lewis Tan responds to new dig from Street Fighter's Cody Rhodes: "Almost spilled my drink laughing"
  3. 3
    Nvidia announces DLSS 5 in uncanny video with obvious AI filter, Todd Howard joins devs hyping it
  4. 4
    Bethesda vets "wouldn't be surprised" if Fallout 5 was outsourced
  5. 5
    Exclusive: Jhin joins Riftbound with absurdly powerful cards

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...