Master Chief will be focus of Showtime’s Halo series

Have you been missing Master Chief? Not to worry, says Showtime, as their upcoming TV adaptation of the Halo series will feature the mascot Spartan as one of its main characters.

Have you been missing Master Chief? Not to worry, says Showtime, as their upcoming TV adaptation of the Halo series will feature the mascot Spartan as one of its main characters.

In an interview with IGN, Showtime president of programming Gary Levine confirmed that Chief will be an important part of the overall story, and that his face is always obscured. It’s an “important” part of the series, Levine said. The show will revolve around a new story instead of any sort of adaptation of previous Halo materials, and will span multiple planets. 

The series is being hailed by Levine as Showtime’s “most ambitious show ever,” which is hard to believe given its the same network behind Twin Peaks: The Return, but sure, it has the opportunity to make some waves. The standard for video game adaptations isn’t very high. 

Showtime president and CEO David Nevins said that the show has been long in development due to the hunt for a decent script. The team has opted out of writers with sci-fi experience or “big battle” movie chops, so it has the potential to offer something new and unique, focused on the “team drama” and interpersonal relationships. 

The series, which is being produced by Steven Spielberg, will be comprised of ten episodes and is targeting a 2020 air date. Production is set to start in 2019. Master Chief appeared in the live action direct-to-DVD miniseries Forward Unto Dawn in 2012, but mostly as a peripheral character. That series came out ahead of the release of Halo 4.

At E3, Microsoft confirmed the existence of a new Halo, Halo Infinite, though we know more about what that game isn’t than what it is.