To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Xbox, Paramount Plus has released the first teaser for the “Halo” TV series, the live-action adaptation of the famous first-person shooter console games.
Not much is known about the series yet, but Pablo Schreiber will play the star of the games, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117. Among numerous roles in film and TV, Pablo played astronaut James Lovell in “First Man,” has appeared in “Orange is the New Black” and co-starred opposite Heath Ledger in the vastly underrated “Lords of Dogtown” and interestingly, he’s the paternal half-brother of actor Liev Schreiber.
Joining him is Jen Taylor, who plays Cortana here and in the game, Charlie Murphy (“Peaky Blinders”) will play Makee, Kate Kennedy (voice of Avela Kjar in “Mass Effect: Andromeda“) will play Kai-125 and Natascha McElhone (“Ronin,” “The Truman Show,” “Solaris”) will play Dr. Catherine Halsey.
If you don’t know what “Halo” is, then you’re missing out. It’s a military-style, sci-fi/fantasy video game series that was one of the flagship franchises for Microsoft’s Xbox. It primarily focuses on the experiences of Master Chief John-117, one of a group of super soldiers code-named Spartans, and his artificial intelligence companion, Cortana. Check out our guide the Halo games ranked worst to best for more.
The original trilogy of games centers on an interstellar war between humanity and an alliance of aliens known as the Covenant. According to Deadline, the show will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.
The games are exclusive to the Xbox and in that way they’re comparable to something like “Metal Gear Solid” for Sony’s Playstation. The first game launched along with the very first Xbox, way back in 2001 and its instant popularity contributed significantly to the success of Microsoft’s first games console. Since then, Halo has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. As of February 2021, the games had sold over 81 million copies worldwide.
The teaser offers a glimpse of the Master Chief’s mark VI Mjolnir armor, showing his gloves, the 117 insignia and the back of his head as his helmet’s put on. Followed by the voice of Cortana saying, “Hello, Master Chief,” together with a shot of the front of the helmet.
The latest game in the series, “Halo Infinite” will be released on Dec. 8 on Windows PC and Xbox Series X. “Halo” the TV series will premiere in the U.S. sometime in 2022 and will be distributed globally by CBS Studios International.
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