The Halo live-action TV series is a go at Showtime. The 10-episode series, which will begin filming in Budapest in Fall 2019, takes place during “an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant,” weaving “deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future,” according to a statement by the network.
Awake creator Kyle Killen will act as showrunner, along with Steven Kane (The Last Ship), who will oversee production in Budapest while Killen manages writing and producing the show stateside, according to THR. Otto Bathurst (Black Mirror) will direct the pilot and several other episodes. Showtime is making the series in collaboration with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment.
In the latest news, Showtime’s Halo is set to begin production in Budapest this month, also adding more to its cast (which you can read about just below).
Here’s everything else we know about the series:
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Halo TV Series Cast
The cast of Halo has just added a trio of newcomers, reports Variety. They consist of the following:
Danny Sapani (Harlots, Penny Dreadful) will play Captain Jacob Keyes, a character who appeared in the very first game, 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved, described as “a dedicated military man, a war hero and a caring father. He finds that working alongside his daughter and his ex-wife is usually the cause of conflict rather than comfort.”
Olive Gray (Dark Mon£y, Sex Education) will play Dr. Miranda Keyes, a character from 2004’s Halo 2 and 2007’s Halo 3, described as “a brilliant UNSC Commander who is dedicated to understanding the technology, language and culture of the Covenant, but she’ll have to learn to navigate the politics of the UNSC to get what she wants.”
Charlie Murphy (Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley) will play Makee, an apparently original character, described as “an orphaned human who was raised by the alien Covenant and shares their contempt for humanity.”
They join the previously-announced ensemble:
Pablo Schreiber (Orange Is the New Black) has been cast as Master Chief, Earth’s last hope in a bloody war across space, who quickly became a video game icon in the early 2000s as he took the fight to the evil Covenant, an alien empire determined to destroy humanity. The character has never shown his face in the games, and it remains to be seen if Schreiber will be taking his helmet off on the show.
Natascha McElhone (Solaris) stars as two iconic characters: Dr. Catherine Halsey, the enigmatic and slightly villainous scientist who created the SPARTAN program, the experiments that created super soldiers such as series protagonist Master Chief. McElhone will also play Cortana, the most advanced AI in history, and “potentially the key to the survival of the human race.”
Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo) plays Soren-066, “a morally complex privateer at the fringes of human civilization whose fate will bring him into conflict with his former military masters and his old friend, the Master Chief.”
Shabana Azmi (Fire) plays Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence. ONI is a big deal in Halo lore.
Bentley Kalu (Avengers: Age of Ultron) plays Spartan Vannak-134, “a cybernetically augmented supersoldier conscripted at childhood who serves as the defacto deputy to the Master Chief.”
Natasha Culzac (The Witcher) plays Spartan Riz-028, “a focused, professional and deadly, cybernetically enhanced killing machine.”
Kate Kennedy (Catastrophe) plays Spartan Kai-125, “an all-new courageous, curious and deadly Spartan supersoldier.”
Newcomer Yerin Ha has also been cast as a character named Kwan Ah, “a shrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both.”
Halo TV Series Release Date
The Halo TV Series is slated to air in the “first quarter of 2021,” according to Showtime.
Halo TV Series Story
The series takes place during “an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant,” weaving “deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future,” according to a statement by the network.
Halo TV Series Details
This isn’t the first time Halo has been up for the live-action treatment, either. You may also recall that Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp also tried to get a Halo movie off the ground, but a creative war between several studios ended the project before it could truly begin. Elements of Blomkamp’s Halo project can be seen in several of his movies, such as the African setting in District 9 and the ring-shaped space station in Elysium.
Ridley Scott produced a poorly received web series called Halo: Nightfall starring Luke Cage’s Mike Colter back in 2014. Hopefully, Showtime’s series fares much better.
We’ll keep you updated on Showtime’s Halo TV series as we learn more!
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John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.
Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.