The television adaptation of the popular video game franchise Halo has announced that the show’s production for its first season has resumed following a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to GamesRadar. The Halo television series is to premiere on Showtime after years of development and oversight from producer and film director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Animaniacs). The video game television series paused production earlier this year, but has revealed the production has resumed in Budapest following an announcement on actor Pablo Schreiber’s (The Wire) Instagram in costume for his character.
Halo is developed for television by Steven Kane (The Last Ship, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Kyle Killen (Awake, Lone Star). The television series will center on the battles and overarching war between the Covenant and the United Nations Space Command in the 2700s. The sci-fi series will display this alien warfare through the acting likes of Schreiber as Master Chief John-117, Shabana Azmi’s (Godmother) Admiral Margaret Parangosky, Charlie Murphy’s (Chappelle’s Show) Makee, Bokeem Woodbine’s (Fargo, Spider-Man: Homecoming) Soren-066, and Natascha McElhone’s (Californication, The Truman’s Show) Catherine Halsey.
Currently, the video game franchise and Microsoft has prepared for a transition for Xbox users for the next-generation launch of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be made available for the new incarnations of the Xbox with some upgrades including split-screen improvements, optimization on Series X and Series S, and many more. Also, the upcoming video game Halo Infinite was delayed to 2021, yet Halo Championship Series has decided to move on from hosting tournament on the new game and center the tournament on Halo 5.
Additionally, Jen Taylor (Left 4 Dead) will reprise her role as the artificial intelligence agent in Cortana, a voice role she has taken on in Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 5 video games, according to IGN. This comes at the heels of the reveal that McElhone’s departure from the role. McElhone was cast to portray Cortana and her creator in Halsey, but is unable to complete the schedule for the A.I. role which led to Taylor’s return in a televised format.
Currently, the series is projected to premiere its first season on Showtime in early 2021, yet there is no exact date attached to the project.