Showtime’s upcoming Halo TV show is reportedly casting its version of main protagonist Master Chief. After years of attempts to bring the popular video game franchise Halo to live-action form - including a canceled film by Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp - premium cable network Showtime finally greenlit a live-action television show set in the massive world. The series will be produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and is expected to air sometime in 2020.
While the Halo TV show will be an original story that isn’t based on any single game in the long-running franchise, it was confirmed the show would definitely feature main protagonist John-117 or, as he’s more commonly known, Master Chief as one of the lead characters. However, not much else was known about the character’s involvement or how close his appearance and demeanor would be to his video game counterpart. At least, that is, until now.
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According to THR, Showtime is currently in the early stages of casting someone in the role of Master Chief for its upcoming Halo series. According to the report, Showtime is looking for a “man with a large build” for the role, which is in line with the character’s appearance in the games. Also included in the report is the fact that the series is also looking to cast someone in the role of prominent supporting character Dr. Catherine Halsey. Interestingly, there’s also a casting call for a character named Jenny, aged 18-20 and of Asian descent.
In the Halo games, Halsey is the mastermind behind the SPARTAN-II program, which aimed to create super-soldiers wearing powerful Mjolnir Assault Armor to combat alien threats like the Covenant and of which Master Chief is a part. The casting call is reportedly looking for someone between the ages of 55-65, so it’s likely that the television show will cover the later parts of the program, after the Spartans have already grown up and are full-fledged warriors. On the other hand, no character named Jenny exists in the games and is likely an original creation for the show.
This is certainly great news for fans of the Halo games who were previously worried that Showtime wouldn’t bring a video game accurate version of Master Chief to the small screen. While it’s not yet known who will be playing the character, it seems like it will certainly be someone who’s intimidating enough to carry such a role (Screen Rant also has some suggestions of who could pull off the role). Either way, the Halo show is chugging along nicely and it seems likely that it’s only a matter of time until Showtime finds its ideal Master Chief.
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Halo is expected to premiere on Showtime in 2020.
Source: THR