Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill led off a discussion with the cast and crew on Paramount+’s YouTube channel about how they are bringing Halo to life on the streaming service. The TV show is a narrative departure from the video games developed by Bungie and 343 Industries, but the show does have a knack for capturing the unique aesthetics of the UNSC’s future military might and their zealous Covenant foes.
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In the video, viewers of Halo can get a behind-the-scenes look at several characters and vehicles making the jump from video game consoles to Paramount+. This includes the physical cockpit of the Pelican, the dropship that Master Chief often uses to travel from place to place. It also features actress Jen Taylor reprising her role in this live-action adaptation as Cortana and the impressive puppetry bringing the Covenant Prophets to life alongside a new character named Makee the Blessed One. Executive Producer and Director Otto Bathurst called out the mixture of CGI and practical effects, saying that he hopes fans stay absorbed in the universe and don’t notice the effects work at all.
While the show has an audience among Paramount+ subscribers, some fans of the greater Halo franchise have been less than engaged with the adventures in the so-called “Silver Timeline.” Among their complaints are the fact that Master Chief spends most of the show without his iconic helmet and a general lack of the type of action that the games have in abundance.
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Translating a game to TV or film has proven difficult for many studios, but Halo‘s situation seems to be less cut and dried than that one time Bob Hoskins hopped around a neon nightmare as Nintendo’s Mario. In any case, Halo has already been picked up for a second season, and it’s always possible that they can turn things around in the eyes of the Xbox diehards.
