While details about the live-action ‘Halo’ adaptation are still sparse, Showtime President of Entertainment Gary Levine has begun to reveal intel about the upcoming series. This fall shooting will begin in Budapest with the idea that the show will be ready to air in 2021. While that does still mean we have over a year to wait, he did share other details at this year’s Television Critics Association summer press tour that fans will want to know.
With the show coming to Showtime, there wasn’t really a concern that they’d be able to show off the violence from the videogames and Levine has confirmed that will be the case:
“It will sort of belong in our PG-13 almost R universe of shows. I’m not sure what age you’re talking about, but again, hopefully, we’ll satisfy the gamers and satisfy the Showtime drama watchers.”
RELATED: Master Chief Is Coming To Showtime’s Upcoming ‘Halo’ Series
While there will be violence, he did clarify that the outlet wants to “satisfy the gamers, but this is a human portrait, so violence is going to have consequence.”
‘Halo’ is an expansive franchise between video games, animated features, comics, and books. The upcoming series will likely be adding to the canon which we’ve all been able to experience so far:
“Hopefully, you’re going to get new information in our series, but we’re not going to violate any of the things in the canon. The good news is, we’ve been working very closely with 343 through the entire development process. They are there both as a resource to tell us stuff we don’t know, and also to make sure we’re not violating anything big in the canon. So we’re doing this with total confidence that the fans are going to embrace what we’re doing.”
Pablo Schrieber (‘The Wire’,’Orange is the New Black’) has been cast as Master Chief. This is a character you tend not to be able to see behind the mask, but it is hard to imagine Schrieber in a role where you don’t get to see his acting chops first hand. While Levine doesn’t outright say that we’ll see Schrieber without the mask, he does seem to hint at it:
“Wait and see. What I love about Pablo is he has the physicality to be a spartan, to be Master Chief, but he is A), a great dramatic actor and B), he’s got such a twinkle in his eye. He’s so good with wit and comedy. We want Master Chief to have that range, and Pablo brings the range.”
It is hard to imagine the “twinkle in his eye” with the helmet on, but Levine jokingly clarified by saying “maybe it’s the twinkle in his mask, we’ll see.”
Only time will tell, but the idea of a live-action ‘Halo’ is one that could work for fans of the franchise and casual audiences if done right.
Are you looking forward to Showtime’s ‘Halo’? Do you feel that this will not only do the franchise justice but be a solid videogame adaptation? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Slash Film
