The latest trailer for the live-action “Halo” TV show coming from Paramount Plus dropped during Sunday’s AFC Championship Game and not only did we get to see Spartans in action, but we also saw Cortana for the first time outside of the game, a teaser of some back story to Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and the all-important premiere date — Thursday, March 24, 2022.
One of the best-selling franchises for Microsoft’s Xbox games console, “Halo” is a military-style, sci-fi/fantasy video game series that centers around the experiences of John-117, one of a group of super soldiers called Spartans, together with his artificial intelligence companion, Cortana.
The original trilogy of games centers on an interstellar war between humanity and an alliance of aliens known as the Covenant. However, the upcoming show won’t be a part of the current canon. Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill said in a video posted to Twitter in December of last year that the decision should be beneficial for both universes.
“We’re referring to this as the Halo Silver Timeline as a way of differentiating it from core canon,” Wolfkill said. “In both protecting core canon and protecting the television story, and by that I mean being able to give ourselves the chance to evolve both and for both to be what they need to be for their mediums without colliding with each other.”
If you’re wondering more about the Halo timeline, here’s a look at the Halo games in chronological order, and our take on all the Halo games ranked worst to best.
Related: Watch the 1st trailer for the ‘Halo’ TV series coming to Paramount Plus
This also marks the first time that Jen Taylor, who provides the voice of Cortana in the games, will play the same role in live action. Her appearance has, shall we say, varied somewhat throughout the series of games.
Joining Taylor is Pablo Schreiber, who will play Spartan John-117, Charlie Murphy (Makee), Kate Kennedy (Kai-125), Bokeem Woodbine (Soren-066) and Natascha McElhone who plays Dr. Catherine Halsey, the creator of the Spartan-II Program and the Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor.
The first entry into the franchise contributed significantly to the success of Microsoft’s inaugural games console. Since then, Halo has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, selling over 81 million copies worldwide as of February 2021.
Incidentally, “Halo” — first created back in 2001 by Bungie — took inspiration from the novel “Ringworld” by Larry Niven — in the creation and development of its story around the eponymous rings, called Halos. (They’re physically similar to the Ringworld, but they are much smaller and don’t encircle the star, instead typically orbiting planets.)
The latest game in the series, “Halo Infinite” was released on Dec. 8 on Windows PC and Xbox Series X. “Halo” the TV series will premiere in the US on March 24 and will be distributed globally by CBS Studios International.
Follow Scott Snowden on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
