Halo series showrunner on TV show Master Chief vs. game Master Chief: "I wouldn’t compare the two"

Master Chief in the Halo TV series
(Image credit: Paramount)

Halo TV series showrunner Steven Kane has opened up on whether the show’s Master Chief (played by Pablo Schreiber) can be compared to the iconic character found in Bungie and 343 Industries’ video game series.

"I don’t think there’s really a comparison," Kane tells GamesRadar+ when asked how this new take on Master Chief compared to the one gamers have controlled for over 20 years on Xbox consoles.

"I think that, in many ways, when you play the game as a first person player, you have your own vision of who John is. You might think of yourself as John, because it's your first person," Kane says.

"This was a way of taking the John that everyone knows from the game or other novels, in terms of everyone kind of knows who he is, and putting our take on it and sort of letting the audience get to know John, as John gets to know himself. I wouldn’t compare the two… Let his journey to self-understanding take us along for the ride and enjoy it with him."

Halo series executive producer and head of transmedia at developer 343 Industries, Kiki Wolfkill adds: "This is one of 10 million Chief stories out there, because we all have our own story." 

"And so this is hopefully a place where people can take the Chief that they have in their heads, and really sit back and let us tell the story and take you on this journey, and recognize this as another version of Chief."

Halo is set to premiere on Paramount Plus on March 24. We also spoke to the creative team about Cortana's new design, which you can read here. If you're still in a major Master Chief mood, head on over to our rankings of the best Halo games.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.