A new Halo for a new generation: How the TV series is reinventing Master Chief

The Halo series has taken almost a decade to reach our screens. Back in 2013, Steven Spielberg announced plans to adapt the iconic video game franchise for television during Microsoft’s Xbox One reveal – and few onlookers could have anticipated it would take quite so long to see Master Chief in action. 

The show first overshot its planned 2015 release date, with directors soon departing the project, and the series then jumped from Showtime to Paramount Plus. Now, finally, Halo reaches the small screen. And with such a protracted development time and an expectant fanbase, the creative team are feeling the pressure.

"Absolutely," says Kiki Wolfkill, executive producer and head of transmedia at the game’s developer 343 Industries. "We always feel the pressure and the responsibility to our fans. Our community is such a huge part of everything that we do."

The Halo series isn’t going to be a 1:1 adaptation of the source material, however. Most broad strokes – the hero Master Chief, his A.I. companion Cortana, and the villainous aliens, the Covenant – remain, but Wolfkill is keen to point out that it’s a clear departure from the games.

"I think, for us, it's hopefully a way where we're bringing the Halo universe to life in a way that they've never seen… in a way that feels so grounded and believable, and, frankly, different from the games," Wolfkill says. "We very much wanted to provide a different experience from the game, but one that feels familiar, and one that feels like they've stepped into the Halo world in a different way."

Those tentative steps extend to its icon (and unofficial Xbox mascot), John-117, AKA Master Chief. The Spartan, played by Orange is the New Black’s Pablo Schreiber, may look the same – a seven-foot super soldier, clad in green MJOLNIR armor, and equipped with an itchy trigger finger – but that’s where the similarities end. Those involved in the Halo series have been vocal about reinventing the icon.

"I don’t think there’s really a comparison [between this Master Chief and the one in the games],” showrunner Steven Kane says. “This was a way of taking the John that everyone knows from the game or other novels… and letting the audience get to know John, as John gets to know himself."

Wolfkill adds that viewers should "really sit back and let us tell the story and take you on this journey, and recognize this as another version of Chief."

Meet John-117

What about the man behind the helmet? While Master Chief is far from a blank slate in the games, the transition to television requires the character to have a deeper personality. Pablo Schreiber – the actor under the helmet – says he took a mix of what was already present in the games and built on top of it.

"He’s a symbol," Schreiber explains. "A symbol for courage, for bravery, for effectiveness under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. He has a sense of humor that is often dry. Those aspects had to remain and had to be established. The rest is filled in with me as an actor, authentically experiencing the situations that were set up for me by the writers and the creators."

It’s not just Master Chief doing things differently. In the games, Cortana is often Chief’s guide, moral compass, and wisecracking sidekick. Yet, it’s not yet clear what to expect from her in the new series; her purpose has been shrouded in mystery. Jen Taylor, who has played Cortana since the series’ genesis in 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved and returns as the same character in live-action.

"It starts very differently," Taylor says of the show. "She’s a pretty different Cortana to the one we’ve met before. She has different goals than the Cortana that we have known in the past 20 years. So that is really fun. I get to do some slightly different things."

Her relationship with Master Chief will also be approached from a new angle. "Because I’m experiencing the world through Pablo’s character in a different kind of way, we’re seeing his more intimate story. Instead of experiencing battles – which is super fun and we do that as well – I also get to experience more intimate moments that he has," Taylor reveals.

Rebel with a cause

The Halo series freshens the franchise up elsewhere, too. It introduces original characters, including Kwan Ha (played by relative newcomer Yerin Ha), a survivor from Madrigal, a rebel-filled planet caught up in a war with the UNSC and, latterly, the Covenant. Halo veterans might be surprised to find that, alongside Master Chief, Kwan is the Halo series’ main character, and we experience this journey – and lore-heavy universe – alongside her.

"Kwan is a really bright way [in] for the new audience and the old fans as well," says Yerin Ha. "Kwan is also experiencing everything around her for the first time. It's a really great way for the audience to kind of step into the world and take it all in… She’s a good introduction for everyone."

Kane adds: "I think what Halo does really well is it lets you know that anyone could be the hero, and I think Kwan sort of embodies that beautifully."

Early on, Master Chief takes Kwan under his wing, and each character softens to the other despite them starting on opposite sides of a conflict. It’s a fascinating relationship that drives the series, making us question why Chief would protect his former enemy. On the dynamic, Ha observes, "I think there’s something I see in him and his humanity in this responsibility to be a hero. Even though he’s my enemy, I think I can see a crack in him. I think that I can see that I’m pulling on his heartstrings just a little bit."

More characters, including Fargo’s Bokeem Woodbine as a fellow Spartan named Soren, and Charlie Taylor’s Makee, a human embedded in Covenant culture, deepen our understanding of Master Chief as they bounce off the Spartan.

"They're all great foils for John," Kane explains. "Also, in their own way, they have their own journeys, which are just as compelling. I mean, you're doing a nine-episode, multi-season TV series, you need to have a full world of characters that have their own journeys that are interesting to watch."

Chief concerns

Don’t worry about the new characters breaking the games’ canon: the TV series takes place on the so-called Silver Timeline, allowing the Halo series to forge forward in its own universe without getting tangled in events from other media and spin-offs. 

The new timeline "allowed us to feel free to tell new stories and not feel like you're colliding with canonically decided timelines," Kane says. "The new timeline is not so vastly different. It's just enough, that allows us to say, ‘This also happened, this is happening.’ And it's not going to sort of upset the whole state of things."

Wolfkill also says the team were still handling the universe with kid gloves: "We always started from a foundation of core canon. That was always the starting point. There was never a change for change’s sake. It was always ‘What does the story need? What does the character need?’ If we're going to make a change from canon, how do we make sure it feels that it's still very much of Halo and of the universe and adheres to our values as Halo."

However, the showrunners are also open to stepping away from Halo’s core values and doing something different. Before a plasma rifle has even fired, the series has caused controversy. Master Chief will take off his helmet to show his face (a cardinal sin in the game series) and Cortana has a new design, more realistic and human-shaped, with a muted color palette at odds with her classic look. 

The two talking points may speak to the difficulties in adapting a beloved property, but the creative team and cast are taking it all in their stride. "From a show standpoint, Spartans take off their helmet and take off their armor all the time," Schreiber says. "In the lore and Halo mythology, there's no rules against it, like there are with the Mandalorian. The Mandalorian takes off his helmet, he's no longer a Mando, right?"

"But we don't have that constraint here in a TV show. And so it felt really necessary to get that out of the way early on in the season, to try to get the audience as comfortable as possible with going on this journey with John."

On the decision itself, Wolfkill says: "There was a lot of conversation. When we went into the process, it was: ‘Let’s see what this story needs.’ We knew that it was going to be a character story. We knew that it was important to understand what John was experiencing on an emotional level as well, as he’s discovering his place in the world. We suspected the helmet would need to come off."

And Cortana? "It's so funny, because we change her design for every game. And a lot of that is driven by technology," Wolfkill says. "It's always been about adapting Cortana to the environment. That was really the impetus in designing her – how do we make her feel very tangible in this Halo world?"

Taylor is coming into the role with an open mind. "I understand why people are protective of that [original design]," Taylor says. "I am curious to see how it’s received. I’m interested in seeing something different and seeing something new. I apologize for my wishy-washiness: Yes, I understand. Yes, I’m also interested to see what she looks like in this new version."

And what of the Halo TV series’ future? It’s already been picked up for a second season (though showrunner Steven Kane won’t be returning), and plans are in place to go well beyond that.

"With all that we’ve learned from season one and as we go into season two, we’re really looking at what does the next five, six, seven years look like?" Wolfkill admits.

For now, though, the team are taking things one step at a time after such a long journey in bringing Halo and a new Master Chief to the screen. "In some ways, the title of the first season could be ‘The Helmet Comes Off’ and then let's get started," Kane says. "Let's discover this guy together."

The Halo series is set to premiere on Paramount Plus on March 24. Want more from the series? Here's our ranking of the best Halo games.