Back in 2018, a 10-episode live-action Halo TV series was announced by Showtime. Network president and CEO David Nevins called it the network’s “most ambitious series ever,” but with no release date announced, it seemed more like a fleeting dream than anything that even remotely realistic. Production was due to begin in early 2019, and then–silence. The game series has everything a good sci-fi series needs, and there’s no doubt that the jump could be worth making if done right. Still, given the abysmal track record of game and anime adaptations, it’s no wonder people are skeptical. All that’s in the past now though, because a Halo series really is coming. We’ve even got a teaser trailer to prove it.
The trailer doesn’t give us a ton, but Master Chief’s Mjolnir armor has never been better. Pablo Schreiber (American Gods) is set to take on the hefty role, and Jen Taylor, who portrays Cortana in the Halo games, will be reprising her role as expected. Previously, Halo: Landfall, a series of promotional shorts serving as ads for Halo 3, was another attempt by the series to dip a toe into live-action. Following that, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn was a web series promoting Halo 4, and Halo: Nightfall…well, we don’t need to talk about Halo: Nightfall.
Halo on Paramount+ will follow Master Chief in a new telling of the conflict between Earth’s United Nations Space Command and the alien faction known as the Covenant, seen in the first three Halo titles as well as the prequel Halo: Reach. Don’t expect a scene-by-scene retelling, as the series intends to integrate both familiar and new characters. Natascha McElhone will portray Doctor Catherine Halsey, the creator of Cortana and the one behind the program that created the Spartans.
The live-action Halo television series will premiere sometime in 2022 exclusively on Paramount+.