Can Showtime’s 'Halo' Series Match the Success the Franchise Had on the Console?

It’s been five years since the news came out that Showtime was taking on the endeavor of bringing the Master Chief to the small screen. Since then, fans have patiently been waiting for this dream to become a reality. Now it seems that everything is coming together for the Halo series to possibly fill the Game of Thrones size gap existing in the universe right now. While the Chief has survived impossible odds more times than most, this will probably be his greatest challenge yet. Can Halo translate successfully from console to TV?

Showtime is pulling out all the stops to make this a reality by recruiting some legitimate talent, offering up tons of action, and respecting all the source material. The video game powerhouse has an established fanbase and epic sci-fi premise, it's hard to imagine this ordeal failing. The premium cable provider is teaming up with 343 Studios to make sure the Chief pulls off another Hail Mary victory on this mission.

The first sign that this series is on the right track is the choice in who they have tapped to take on the role of Master Chief. These are some mighty big space boots to fill, and the man to fill them will be Pablo Schreiber. The actor is known for his work on American Gods, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and Den of Thieves. He will be the one who straps on the helmet, and becomes a Spartan. Schreiber has the physique and action experience to do Chief justice on screen. But gamers know that the Chief is a man of few words. It's possible Schreiber will be able to take the character from being able to get through a few cutscenes to being able to carry a narrative for several one-hour episodes throughout a season. This casting is an exciting choice, and it will be fun to see how the First Man actor will stack up as the video game icon.

“Wait and see. What I love about Pablo is that he has the physicality to be a spartan, to be Master Chief, but he is A), a great dramatic actor, and B), he’s got such a twinkle in his eye. He’s so good with wit and comedy. We want the Master Chief to have that range, and Pablo brings the range.” - Levine

The other big question when it comes to casting is Cortana. She is as essential to fans of this series as the Chief himself. Cortana is a highly advanced AI, whose assistance becomes extremely necessary in the fight against the Covenant. Most of how the Chief survives his insane missions are because of her. So it makes sense that actress Natascha McElhone was given the role. While she may not be a household name, she is a proven talent in the industry. McElhone is known for her roles in Californication, Designated Survivor, Solaris, and Ronan. In my opinion, she is a perfect choice to play Cortana, and I, for one, can’t wait to see how they showcase her on screen. She will also be taking on the role of Dr. Halsey, the woman in charge of the Spartan program that creates the Chief, and the person the AI Cortana is modeled after. McElhone is an excellent choice to take on the role described as one of the most advanced artificial intelligence in human history, and the potential key to the human race.

Adding to this star-studded affair is newcomer Yerin Ha. She will be playing a 16-year old girl from the Outer Colonies, who encounters the Chief during all the alien chaos. Then there is Fargo and Spider: Man Homecoming actor Bokeem Woodbine, who is playing a character named Soren-066. In the press release, Soren-066 is a morally complex privateer, whose fate will bring him into contact with his former mentor, Master Chief. Shaba Azmi will take on the role of Admiral Margaret Parangosky, who is the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Bentley Kalu will play a Spartan with the designation Vannak-134. Kalu's Spartan is a cybernetically-augmented supersoldier conscripted in childhood, who serves as the deputy to the Master Chief. Natasha Culzac will play Spartan Riz-028, who is a focused and deadly, enhanced killing machine. Kate Kennedy will take on the role of Spartan Kai-125. Kennedy's character is an all-new courageous, deadly Spartan supersoldier.

Everyone involved seems very excited at the possibility of how big this series can go. So the question comes down to what has been the holdup? The fact that it has taken half a decade to get off the ground isn't very reassuring, and begins to bring into question these ambitious presumptions. But what if it was one of those situations where good things come to those who wait? Maybe it was all just a matter of timing. Perhaps for Halo to work, there needed to be that gap left by the infamous series based on the writings of one George R.R. Martin. Maybe instead of fantasy action with dragons, fans will accept sci-fi action with aliens to bring them weekly joy. According to the 343 Industries transmedia Chief, this is more than just a possibility. Kiki Wolfkill believes that the Halo TV series could be the heir to the Iron Throne currently left vacant. Only with absolutely no incest. Wolfe could not stress that enough when she recently sat down with The AIAS Game Maker’s Notebook podcast.

“We talk about 'Game of Thrones' a lot in terms of scope and scale and complexity of relationships. A lot of the background of 'Halo' is this sort of political drama. It’s something that [is touched on] really lightly in the games, and you see more of in some of the other mediums,” she said. “Some of that ['Game of Thrones'-style] complexity is interesting. With no incest planned at all for this show.” - Kiki Wolfkill

Game of Thrones had some visually stunning war sequences. They put cinema-level action sequences into a TV show, and they were relentless when it came to making the violence look authentic. Most video game-based properties are restricted to going PG-13 to expand the audience range to include the younger demographics, but the thing to remember is that this is Showtime. I mean, this is the network that brought its fans Dexter, Homeland, and Penny Dreadful, so they are not squeamish when it comes to pushing the limits on visuals. The audience expects a certain level of realism when witnessing one of their critically acclaimed properties. So it's safe to say, that attitude will translate over to the Halo series.

They will go as PG-13 as they can, and still have plenty of R-rated action to keep up with the competition. In Halo, there is less human-on-human violence than there is Spartan-on-extraterrestrial, which could help it keep with the pace that Showtime loyalists are used to, as well as still be something younger fans can enjoy. In the Lord of the Rings films, the war sequences are just as violent as, and at just as grand a scale, as the ones featured in Game of Thrones. Despite the excessive gore and mayhem, the LOTR trilogy was able to successfully get by with a PG-13 rating, securing high box office returns and Oscar glory.

“We want to be able to satisfy the gamers, but this is a human portrait, so violence is going to have a consequence. It will sort of belonging in our PG-13 almost R universe of shows. I’m not sure what age you’re talking about, but again, hopefully, we’ll satisfy the gamers and satisfy the Showtime drama watchers.” - Levine

And like GOT, Halo has an ample amount of source immaterial for the series to utilize. The Halo canon does not just exist with the Master Chief’s saga. Stories from the spinoff games are amazing, and both boast their own great war stories. Halo: Reach, Halo 3: ODST, and the Halo Wars games have their own tales within this universe, that could be great movies or shows on their own. And the Canon doesn’t stop there. The lore spans into animation, comic books, and novels. Game of Thrones used what they needed from the books before abandoning the literature for inspiration, and spiraling off the rails in the final season. But with this popular franchise, Showtime is respecting all of it. Everything Halo is up for grabs in the new TV show.

“Hopefully, you’re going to get new information in our series, but we’re not going to violate any of the things in the Canon. The good news is, we’ve been working very closely with 343 through the entire development process. They are there both as a resource to tell us stuff we don’t know, and also to make sure we’re not violating anything big in the Canon. So we’re doing this with total confidence that the fans are going to embrace what we’re doing.” - Levine

The Halo phenomena has grown more significant than anyone could have imagined, and it was only a matter of time before it made a jump like this to the next platform. The extraneous delay is concerning, but it should be noted that GOT went through a similar uphill battle to finally land where it did. George R.R. Martin spent years trying to get Hollywood to turn his work into a film before he settled on a TV series on HBO, which turned out to be the right choice. Halo went through a similar affair with Peter Jackson once mentioned to be in talks regarding a feature film adaptation. But inevitably the character would go the television route, ironically enough with HBO’s long-time premium cable rival, Showtime. So considering all these similarities, it’s not crazy to think that the Halo series could be the next big thing. It has the following, the cast, the excellent source material, and a troubled origin story. If there was a formula to make a Game of Thrones-esque hit, Showtime's take on the Master Chief has all the ingredients for it to bring in the desired results. All the pieces are there; all they have to do now is not screw this up!

The highly anticipated Halo series on Showtime is aiming for a 2021 premiere.