A Halo TV show or movie has been in the cards for decades, with a project originally helmed by District 9 director Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson being canceled in the mid-2000s. Since then, rumors surrounding a Halo series have cropped up once in a while, with each being met by fan excitement, and then disappointment when the project is eventually axed.
But now a full trailer has dropped for the Halo series coming to Paramount+. While the trailer hasn't been met with total acclaim, a great deal of criticism being levied at major plot changes and the visual appearance of beloved AI companion Cortana, it does show potentially exciting elements. Along with some authentic-looking weaponry and a realistic Elite, the show seems to be putting Master Chief's characterization front and center, which makes complete sense following the release of Halo Infinite's campaign.
A Brief History of Master Chief's Humanity
When it originally released in 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved followed the trend of putting players in the shoes of a (mostly) silent protagonist. While there are glimpses of the Master Chief acting human in the original game, he mostly sticks to the conventions of the genre, only uttering a few lines over the course of the campaign and letting Cortana do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to plot exposition and emotional beats.
With every new entry in the Halo franchise, the Master Chief becomes more human, being given more lines and having his relationship with Cortana fleshed out. By the time players get to Halo 5: Guardians, the Master Chief's relationship with Cortana lays the foundation for the game's narrative, with Cortana's oncoming Rampancy spelling her inevitable death and the Chief desperately trying to find a way to stop it. This all culminates in a final cutscene that should leave any fan of the series in tears.
Halo Infinite brings more humanity to the Master Chief than ever before, giving him both a new AI companion and a human one in the Pilot. Both of these characters manage to give the Chief plenty of opportunities to showcase his own feelings, which is extremely rare for the character. He even spends a lot more time than usual rescuing marines across Zeta Halo. By the end of Infinite's campaign, fans are left with a more relatable, and more human, Master Chief.
How The Paramount+ Show Can Humanize Master Chief
Despite only a few moments in the trailer depicting the Chief in action, the dialog and general direction seems to suggest Master Chief will be given a more relatable and human character from the offset. During the Paramount+ trailer, Chief can be seen interacting with a marine who says, "You just decided to help me. Why would a Spartan do that?" This comes right after Halsey says Chief is "controllable," suggesting he does have his own free will that he uses to help others.
Another way in which the Paramount+ Halo show looks to be humanizing the Chief may be a point of controversy when it releases in March. It's been widely speculated that the show may show Master Chief's face, which goes against a long-running Halo game tradition. While this choice would likely garner the show a great deal of backlash, it may be better for the show in the long run, especially if the goal is to humanize the Chief more than ever.
While shows like The Mandalorian have proven that faceless characters can still convey a great deal of personality and emotion, it isn't the easiest task for an actor. A show so heavily entrenched in otherworldly sci-fi elements may need Chief to show his face in order to make the plot more relatable.
Halo will air on Paramount+ starting March 24, 2022.