Posted in: Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: halo, pablo s, paramount plus

Halo: 343 Industries' Wolfkill on Series Adapt's "Biggest Challenge"

Published Sun, 15 Aug 2021 16:07:10 -0500

So the last time we checked in on Paramount+'s (previously Showtime) upcoming Pablo Schreiber (American Gods)-starring series adaptation of the popular video game franchise Halo, it was near the end of June and there was some shifting of responsibilities going on with co-showrunners Steven Kane and Kyle Killen (with Killen departing the project and Kane confirming he won't return if there's a second season). This time around, our update turns the focus back on what viewers can expect to see on the screen. 343 Industries' Kiki Wolfkill, who as Head of Halo Transmedia and Entertainment is responsible for helping to bring the game to live-action life, spoke with IGN about the biggest and most nerve-wracking part of the series adaptation.

"Probably the biggest challenge with adapting the game is, the game is designed to put you in Chief's armor. What we're asking people to do with the show is sort of sit back, and we're going to present a side of Chief that you just don't get to play in the game," Wolfkill explained. "For me, what gets me through it is focusing on where we need to get to, right? And focusing on what we want to be able to deliver and why. The 'why' of it is really important. For the television series, we want to be able to do something new in Halo, and we want people to be able to experience it differently. There's such a responsibility, and there's also just the personal, you know, drive of wanting to create something amazing. And you bring all those things together, and there's sort of no room to panic."

Paramount+'s Halo also stars Yerin Haare, Shabana Azmi (Fire), Bentley Kalu (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Natasha Culzac (The Witcher), Kate Kennedy (Catastrophe), Natascha McElhone (Ronin), Jen Taylor ("Halo" video game franchise), Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo), David Sapani (Doctor Who), Olive Gray (Fleabag), Charlie Murphy (Ripper Street), Bentley Kalu (Team Jay), Natasha Culzac (Cursed), and Kate Kennedy (Handy) as three new Spartan characters, as well as Jen Taylor (video games Halo 1-5 and Reach) as AI Cortana.

Schreiber's Master Chief is Earth's most advanced warrior in the 26th century and the only hope of salvation for a civilization pushed to the brink of destruction by the Covenant, an unstoppable alliance of alien worlds committed to the destruction of humanity. Ha's Quan Ah is a shrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both. McElhone's Dr. Catherine Halsey is the brilliant, conflicted, and inscrutable creator of the Spartan supersoldiers; while her counterpart is Cortana (Taylor), the most advanced AI in human history – and potentially the key to the survival of the human race. Woodbine's Soren-066 is 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.

Azmi's Admiral Margaret Parangosky is the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Kalu's Spartan Vannak-134 is a cybernetically augmented supersoldier conscripted at childhood who serves as the de facto deputy to the Master Chief. Culzac's Spartan Riz-028 is a focused, professional and deadly, cybernetically enhanced killing machine. Kennedy's Spartan Kai-125 is an all-new courageous, curious, and deadly Spartan supersoldier. Sapani's Captain Jacob Keyes is 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. Gray's Dr. Miranda Keyes is 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. Murphy's Makee is an orphaned human who was raised by the alien Covenant and shares their contempt for humanity. As for the new Spartans, Kalu stars as Vannak-134, with Culzac as Riz-028 and Kennedy as Kai-125

Showtime's Halo series is executive produced by Steven Kane (The Last Ship), Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and 343 Industries, director Otto Bathurst and Toby Leslie for One Big Picture, and Kyle Killen and Scott Pennington for Chapter Eleven. CBS Studios International will handle global distribution.

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