Paramount+'s decision to unmask Master Chief in its Halo TV series split opinions from the start. Still, despite some creative decisions which proved a turn-off for longtime fans, a lot of people tuned in and season 2 is now on the horizon.
Of course, one of the show's biggest missteps in the eyes of many fans was the fact we saw Master Chief have sex with human covenant spy prisoner Makee. That was the straw which broke the camel's back for those who deemed this adaptation too much of a departure from the version of the hero seen in Xbox's hit video game franchise.
Oh, and just to make things even weirder, Cortana was watching them the whole time.
Talking to SFX, Master Chief himself, Pablo Schreiber, admitted the entire sequence was a mistake and revealed that he pushed for the idea to be dropped (only to be shot down by those in charge).
"The decision to make the connection between Makee and John a romantic connection was a huge mistake," the actor candidly admitted. "I felt it was a huge mistake at the time and I argued against it and fought against it. But I am who I am. I don’t write the scripts. I only give my opinion. It wasn’t listened to."
Despite being on the same page as fans in this respect, a 2022 interview saw him make it clear he has zero issues with Master Chief's helmet being removed.
"One thing I learned very early on is that there's as many different opinions in the Halo universe as there are Halo fans. So obviously, you're not going to be able to please everybody. But what I would say is that we are tailoring an entertainment experience that's tailored to the medium that it's for."
"When you play a first-person shooter, the way that a character is developed is very different than what's necessary when you're making long-form television. To go on this journey with your protagonist, you're not going to be able to bring an audience along in a long-form story without having access to a character's face, which tells you what they're feeling, how they think about everything. That access to a character's emotional life, over the course of time, is what makes you empathise and connect with a character."
"I'm sorry, but it's the only choice for long-form storytelling in television. What I would say to anybody who disagrees with that, I totally respect that opinion. But it's a pretty basic place to start when you're talking about making a television show of quality."
When Halo returns on February 8, we'll pick up with Master Chief John-117 as he leads his team of elite Spartans against the alien threat known as the Covenant. In the wake of a shocking event on a desolate planet, John cannot shake the feeling that his war is about to change and risks everything to prove what no one else will believe – that the Covenant is preparing to attack humanity’s greatest stronghold.
Halo stars Pablo Schreiber (American Gods) as Master Chief, Spartan-117 and Natascha McElhone (Californication) as Dr. Halsey, who also both serve as producers this season.
Additional returning cast members include Jen Taylor (Halo), Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo), Shabana Azmi (Fire), Natasha Culzac (The Witcher), Olive Gray (Half Moon Investigations), Yerin Ha (Reef Break), Bentley Kalu (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Kate Kennedy (Catastrophe), Charlie Murphy (Peaky Blinders), and Danny Sapani (Penny Dreadful). Fiona O'Shaughnessy (The Forgiven) and Tylan Bailey will also return as series regulars in season two.
Some new additions to the cast have also been confirmed today; those include Joseph Morgan (The Originals), Cristina Rodlo (No One Gets Out of Here Alive) and Christina Bennington (Midsomer Murders).