It has been officially confirmed that Master Chief will be removing his iconic helmet to reveal his face for the first time in the Halo TV show. The Halo series, which is adapted from the futuristic first-person shooter video game franchise of the same name, will follow humanity's efforts to battle an alien menace known as The Covenant. The show, which will launch exclusively on Paramount+ on March 24, 2022, stars Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey, Charlie Murphy as Makee, Shabana Azmi as Admiral Margaret Parangosky, and Bokeem Woodbine as Soren-066.
In the lead is Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, the super-soldier who has become so iconic that he is not only the de facto figurehead of the Halo games but for the XBOX platform in general. He is the lead character for two generations of Halo games - both the original trilogy and the Reclaimer Saga - a beloved pop culture figure, and a frequently seen Halloween costume throughout the years. One of the most notable aspects of the character is his iconic helmet, which he has never removed over the course of the 21-year history of Halo.
Per IGN, Kiki Wolfkill, who is the Studio Head of Transmedia at 343 Industries, spoke at the recent IGN Fan Fest. She revealed once and for all that "you will see his face," referring to Master Chief. The folks behind the show understand how important this creative decision is, both for fans who have longed to see his face after all this time and for those who are trepidatious about the character changing in any way. She says they "absolutely respect both sides of that fence" but they "set out to tell... a personal story... And once we really got into what that story was, it became clear that you really needed to see the person in the armor and under the helmet." Read her full quote below:
I think we set out to tell a character story and a personal story. And once we really got into what that story was, it became clear that you really needed to see the person in the armor and under the helmet.
You will see his face. For some people, it’s been a moment 20 years in the making, and for other people it is something that feels very hard to imagine. We absolutely respect both sides of that fence, those who really want to see Chief’s face and those who really don’t. But for the nature of this story, it felt really important to connect with the Master Chief in a different way, and that meant showing the face.
The issue of casting a notable performer as a masked or helmeted character has been plaguing superhero and science fiction properties for quite some time. Studios are often caught between wanting to stay true to the source material, wanting to allow their actors space to emote, and wanting to show as much of a famous face as possible to please audiences who showed up for the star rather than the property. These considerations explain things like the reason Iron Man's helmet pops open so frequently to show Robert Downey Jr., or why the Mandalorian takes his helmet off at least once per season.
The Halo series has promised to tell a story set in the universe of the games, but separate from any storyline that fans have ever seen before. Showing a more personal and human side to Master Chief certainly fits with this mission statement. Hopefully, the creators have found a way to honor the tone and action that fans expect while adding their own flavor to the more dramatic side of the storytelling.
Source: IGN