Showtime's
Halo TV series took a major step forward today, enlisting Emmy nominated actor Pablo Schreiber (
American Gods,
Orange is the New Black) as Master Chief, the iconic Spartan super soldier who will serve as “humanity’s last hope against the Covenant“ in the upcoming live-action series adaptation of the popular Xbox video game franchise.
Master Chief
figures to play a prominent role in the story, with previous reports speculating that we
may even get to see the iconic character unmasked.
“It took us a long time to get the script but we felt like we had something that was really interesting and felt like it belonged on Showtime in terms of its character depth, and it’s going to be a big show," Showtime President and CEO David Nevins previously said.
In addition to Schreiber’s casting, Showtime has also enlisted Australian newcomer Yerin Ha, who joins the cast a new character created specifically for the show. Yerin Ha will play Quan Ah,
“a schrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both.”
While plot specifics are still being kept under wraps, we do know that the highly anticipated series will dramatize
“an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant,” while simultaneously weaving
“deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.”
Showtime recently
announced that Otto Bathurst will direct multiple episodes of the series while also serving as executive producer, writer, and showrunner. He replaced former director Rupert Wyatt, who
had to step away from the project due to a scheduling conflict.
Check out some of the initial reactions to the recent casting announcements from those heavily involved in the
Halo franchise.
Production on Showtime’s
Halo TV series, which will consist of nine episodes (down from the initial 10-episode count), is slated to begin in the fall in Budapest, Hungary.