Longtime fans of the iconic video game franchise have a good reason to be excited for the upcoming Halo TV show, especially if the new look at Master Chief is any indication. The live-action Paramount+ series based on the hit Halo video game franchise will focus on Spartan 117—better known as the Master Chief—an engineered super soldier in the service of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). Like in the games, this conglomerate of human military might is at war with a mysterious alliance of alien races known as the Covenant who pursue their goal of finding and activating the Halo rings with a fanatical devotion.
The teaser trailer for the much-anticipated Halo series shows Master Chief from behind, his scarred body and shaved head exposed before he dons the his iconic armor and helmet. Concern over Master Chief changes in the Halo TV show has plagued online communities, but the glimpses from the trailer appear to stay pretty true to the games. Once Spartan 117 is fully armor-clad, a disembodied voice—presumably that of his beloved A.I. construct Cortana (Jen Taylor)—says, "Hello, Master Chief," before it cuts to the logo.
The brief look at Chief in the upcoming Halo show should leave fans of the franchise feeling good ahead of its expected 2022 premiere. In addition to showcasing the overall production quality, the trailer demonstrates that the studio is keeping true to the source material in a number of important ways. It also gives some insight into themes that the series will build on in order to convert the masked protagonist from a first-person killing machine to a compelling TV character.
Based on the trailer, the studio will carry over a number of key points from the video games. Paramount+'s Halo TV show features armor that looks true to the popular Xbox sci-fi shooter. Although it's difficult to tell from the brief glimpse whether Chief is sporting the Mark V or Mark VI armor from the games, it's clear that his iconic Spartan look will remain largely unchanged. Even more importantly, however, the trailer suggests the show's commitment to hiding Master Chief's face. The video game franchise has yet to see 117's face revealed, so this is an important element for long-time fans of the series. It's unclear whether the show will continue to conceal Schreiber's face throughout, especially since a similar tactic has already led to controversy with Pedro Pascal on the set of The Mandalorian, but the fact that it remains hidden in the trailer is at least a nice touch.
The teaser also hints at some of the themes that might be explored in the series, and they seem like a strong fit to elevate Master Chief to a genuine narrative character as opposed to a simple, taciturn vessel of alien destruction. One major theme that's briefly examined in the later Halo games as well as some of the related books is the suffering the Spartan soldiers undergo. The trailer opens by focusing on 117's exposed torso, covered with precise surgical scars—presumably a result of his physical augmentation. That paired with the fact that candidates for the Spartan program were taken from their homes as children suggests that a major focus of the series could be the physical and emotional toll on Chief as well as the other Spartans. This aspect of the Halo TV series will hopefully lend 117 the human depth that his character is largely missing in the game.
The trailer gives longtime fans of the Halo games and newcomers alike reason to get excited. The brief glimpse into the world they are expanding holds great promise spanning from production quality to narrative strength. Audiences anticipating the Master Chief's TV show debut will have to wait though, as the Halo series won't be available to stream on Paramount+ until sometime in early 2022.