Showtime's Halo television series, based on the massively popular video game franchise, is looking for actors to fill out its roster of Space Marines — and one of them will catch diehard fans of the franchise by surprise.
According to casting notices obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the pay cabler's series will feature a live-action version of John/Master Chief, who is described as a Spartan-like warrior of large build. Fans of the franchise are of course familiar with the role, as Master Chief (aka Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John-117) is the primary protagonist of the Halo games.
The revelation is interesting in that Master Chief's face is never fully shown in the games. Instead, the character — an imposing, genetically enhanced supersoldier — is almost exclusively seen in his iconic green armor and helmet. It is unlikely the TV version of their character will keep his face hidden under a helmet at all times, particularly as he is listed as a series regular.
Other characters poised to be featured in the series are Dr. Halsey — likely the Dr. Catherine Halsey who appears in 2010's Halo: Reach and 2012's Halo 4 and 2015's Halo 5: Guardians — and Jenny, listed as an Asian woman between the ages of 18-20. There is no major character by the name of Jenny in the games, but Dr. Halsey is a prominent figure in Halo lore.
Dr. Halsey is the creator of the SPARTAN-II program, which produced the elite corps of supersoldiers and their Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor. The casting notice for her character calls for an actress between the ages of 55-65, so it is likely that the series will focus on the later stage of her life when she worked to protect her Spartan creations rather than simply raising them for war.
Halo does not have a premiere date set, but production is slated to begin June 2019 in Budapest. Kyle Killen will serve as executive producer, writer and showrunner on the series.
The Halo TV series cast has been rounded out as the ambitious video game adaptation looks to finally start production later this year. Pablo Schreiber (Orange Is the New Black) was previously set in the lead role of Master Chief, but today Showtime announced that Natascha McElhone (Californication) and Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo) are also set for lead roles in the show while Shabana Azmi (Fire), Bentley Kalu (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Natasha Culzac (The Witcher) and Kate Kennedy (Catastrophe) round out the ensemble.
McElhone will be playing two characters in the Halo TV show: Dr. Catherine Halsey, the brilliant, conflicted and inscrutable creator of the Spartan supersoldiers and Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history, and potentially the key to the survival of the human race.
Woodbine is set to play Soren-066, a morally complex privateer at the fringes of human civilization whose fate will bring him into conflict with his former military masters and his old friend, the Master Chief. Azmi will play Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence.
The show is also introducing new characters that weren’t previously seen in the game franchise, including Vannak-134, a cybernetically augmented supersoldier who serves as Master Chief’s deputy (played by Kalu); Spartan Riz-028, a focused and professional killing machine (played by Culzac); and Spartan Kai-125, a courageous and curious Spartan supersoldier (played by Kennedy).
Halo is of course based on the Xbox game franchise of the same name, as 343 Industries has been trying to adapt Halo for years. At one point, a Halo movie was in the works with Neill Blomkamp directing and Peter Jackson producing.
The TV series adaptation has already been through a few ups and downs. Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) was previously attached to executive produce and direct multiple episodes before exiting the series six months later. Wyatt explained to us earlier this year that he left the show when it became clear that the time commitment would be massive, and that his creative freedom would be somewhat limited:
Otto Bathurst (Robin Hood) replaced Wyatt as the show’s principal director, while Kyle Killen (Awake) is onboard as showrunner. Filming is now finally set to begin later this year in Budapest, but post-production will be lengthy—Halo isn’t set to debut on Showtime until the first quarter of 2021.
