The wait is over: Paramount Plus has released the first official trailer for its highly-anticipated Halo TV series, delivering what looks to be an epic and (most importantly) visually accurate adaptation of the beloved video game franchise.
The trailer also brings a release date: The Halo TV show will premiere on the Paramount Plus streaming service on March 24, 2022.
The Halo television series tells the story of the human-Covenant war in the 26th century, in which the Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and his AI partner Cortana (Jen Taylor) attempt to stop the alien threat known as The Covenant and their genocidal campaign against humanity.
While the upcoming TV adaptation seems to stick pretty closely to the basic fundamentals of Halo, it also seems to be taking a very different path story-wise. Before we go any further, you can check out the official trailer for the Halo TV series below.
Analysis: a halo different from what we are used to
As Halo Director of Franchise Development Frank O'Connor previously explained, the TV show exists on its own "Silver Timeline," allowing its showrunners to pick elements from "lore, history, canon." and existing Halo characters". ". for a linear narrative" without invalidating the "basic canon" of Halo.
Based on the trailer above, we already see several ways that the Halo TV series deviates from existing Halo canon.
For starters, the show's Master Chief isn't the last surviving Spartan, as we see him operating alongside other Spartan soldiers in several scenes.
It also appears that (at least at first) this Master Chief does not display free will; as Dr. Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone) explains in the trailer, the Master Chief was designed for the sole purpose of fighting The Covenant, stating that "it's deadly, scalable, and most importantly, controllable."
However, that last part seems to change when Master Chief comes into contact with a mysterious object that was being sought by The Covenant, awakening something inside him that puts him in his own path.
Another big change in Halo lore comes in the form of Makee (Charlie Murphy), a new (and seemingly human) character created specifically for the series who leads (or at least speaks for) The Covenant.
The idea of a human member of the Covenant is a huge departure for the franchise, though we have to wonder if the decision was made to cut the inherent visual effects costs that would come with a fully CG-animated alien villain.
Which brings us to what could be the most controversial choice of the Halo TV show: the appearance of Cortana. Although the character appears to have been computer-generated into the series (or at least CG-enhanced), the Halo showrunners chose to ditch the character's bluish hologram look in favor of a more physical human appearance. Frankly, we find the change puzzling and unnecessary, though we'll have to wait and see how it plays out.
Changes aside, we like how pretty much everything else looks in the trailer, from the Spartan armor, weapons, and vehicles to the look of the elites (and their energy swords), jackals, and shards. other visually accurate elements of Halo iconography. We can't wait to see more when Halo arrives on March 24.