Halo fans have some great news this weeks, as Showtime has announced that the network has cast the lead role for the in-production Halo series that the company has ordered. And yes, the series will star the venerable Master Chief. Pablo Schreiber (American Gods, Orange Is the New Black) will star as the iconic supersoldier hero of the project, giving fans and gamers alike a glimpse at a more human side of the Chief.
It’s an interesting pick, as his past roles cast Schreiber as a varied and capable actor who knows how to handle both serious and comedic writing. His physique will also help add to the imposing figure cut by John 117, who stands at an incredible 6’10” — 7’2″ depending on the lore sources. Pablo Schreiber is 6’5″, so it should be fairly easy to give him an air of extra height and physical prowess using camera trickery and clever editing. and assuming the show makes extensive use of the Mjolnir assault armor, we’re going to see this version of the chief in plenty of action.
It will be interesting to see what changes the showrunners make to the lore and setting of the Halo universe. We’ve already gotten hints of what the show plans to do too. 343 executive producer Kiki Wolfkill spoke with VG247 and revealed that some aspects of the lore will shift, but didn’t reveal to much, careful to leave fans guessing. One thing discussed in the piece was the in-universe idea of never showing John 117’s face, a fact that Wolfkill teased might change.
“There are occasions where he showers…” Wolfkill laughed. “Joking aside, there are some details that we may shift, but we want to respect the fans and what they love about the IP.” Dates and other aspects will likely change as well, as the timeline of the show will have to adapt to choices the writers make, as it’s impossible to reconcile all of the expansive Halo lore.
And while these changes are sure to displease some fans, this is always a constant with film and TV adaptations of popular fiction. Fans will always have something to say about the way visual media condenses and eliminates some aspect of lore in a story. In some cases their criticisms are on point with certain popular TV shows completely disregarding character development and good writing in favor of fancy filming locations and superficial emotive performances. Let’s just hope that Showtime avoids those particular issues unlike some of their competitors.
