'Halo' TV Show Trailer Released, Shows Master Chief's Epic Arrival to Paramount+
The official trailer for Paramount+'s new sci-fi show Halo has finally arrived and brought an official release date. Based on the wildly popular video game series, Halo follows the exploits of Master Chief and his squad of genetically enhanced Spartans in the 26th century as they take on the alien threat known as The Covenant. The trailer aired during the AFC Championship Game where the Cincinnati Bengals faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs for a shot at the Super Bowl. The first trailer offered viewers a look at "humanity's best weapon" as they attempt to "find the Halo, win the war."
American Gods star Pablo Schrieber stars as Master Chief and video game fans will be thrilled that Jen Taylor returns to voice Cortana, the iconic A.I. character from the game series. Natascha McElhone, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Yerin Ha, Charlie Murphy, and Bokeem Woodbine round out the cast, and Steven Kane and Kyle Killen hold the reins as showrunners. The series will premiere on Paramount+ on March 24, 2022.
David Nevins, the Chief Creative Officer at CBS and Chairman/CEO of the Showtime Networks, previously spoke about the series and what fans can expect from it. "It delivers the visceral excitement of playing the game, along with a much deeper emotional experience around the Spartans, human beings who got their humanity chemically and genetically altered," he said. "The story is about reclaiming what makes them human, and therefore it's a very powerful story."
The series had actually shot more than half of its first season prior to the coronavirus pandemic, but like nearly all other films and TV productions, it was forced to halt filming in March 2020 in Budapest before resuming in 2021. Eventually, discussions began on where the show might end up, if not Showtime, and Paramount+ soon became the top contender. "We were on the hunt for signature shows beyond the Star Trek franchise on CBS All Access and were thinking, what could be a defining series for Paramount+," Nevins said.
Then after seeing finished footage of what had been shot so far, executives believed it was the direction they wanted to go. "Halo always fit the bill, but seeing it, we felt it would work," Nevins added. "It could be a defining show for a newish service that's got all firepower of an entertainment corporation behind it."