Showtime's upcoming Halo show is undergoing a behind-the-scenes change, as director M.J. Bassett has been forced to leave the project due to coronavirus delays. The upcoming series is based on the popular video game franchise and has been in the works for some time. Halo was given the greenlight by Showtime back in 2018, but progress on the show has been slow. For one, director Rupert Wyatt exited the series several months after Showtime's initial order. Luckily, Halo was finally able to begin production in late 2019, with some new cast members announced at that time as well.
Pablo Schreiber will play Master Chief, starring alongside Natasha McElhone as Cortana, Bokeem Woodbine as Soren-066, and Yerin Ha as Quan Ah. Showtime has ordered 10 episodes of Halo, which are set to debut in 2021. Even though the premiere hasn't happened yet, fans have already taken issue with some aspects of the show, including its casting and plot details, which some feel aren't true to the games. However, much is still unknown about the Halo series, and viewers could very well be pleased with the final result.
Unfortunately, one more behind-the-scenes shakeup has occurred ahead of the show's debut. Speaking with THR, Bassett revealed a scheduling change due to the coronavirus means she won't be able to work on Halo as planned. Bassett explained:
I got wrapped about a few days before I was due to start shooting, and I can’t go back to it because I have another project I was penciled in for. It’s my next movie, in fact. I managed to keep the date for the movie, but Halo is also going to get up and running on that date. So I had a conflict and had to step away, which is a terrible shame because Halo is going to be a really fun show. I was really looking forward to it. We built the sets, planned everything and had scripts that were working. It’s going to be an enormous, enormous show. Pablo Schreiber is going to be a great Master Chief. The whole cast was good, but unfortunately, I can’t go back to it.
Though it's disappointing to hear Bassett is no longer involved in Halo, her words about the show are promising. Her comment about the show's apparent scale is especially exciting, as it indicates Halo will maintain the spirit and scope of the games. It's also good to hear Bassett praise the show's cast, considering the controversy. Signaling out Schreiber is a good sign as well; his Master Chief will be a big factor in whether Halo is a success.
The news about Bassett exiting the Halo show speaks to the coronavirus' lasting impact on Hollywood. Though filming shutdowns due to the pandemic have received a lot of attention, there will continue to be ripple effects from it. Bassett isn't the first creative who's been forced to walk away from a project due to the coronavirus, and she won't be the last. It shows the continued cost of the virus, albeit on a smaller scale, which will likely be felt for years to come. Hopefully, Halo is still a success without Bassett, but her departure is certainly a loss for the series.
Source: THR