Halo TV series gets first full trailer and a surprise release date
It's been a long, long time coming, but we finally have the first trailer for the upcoming Halo TV series. After a teaser trailer and first look revealed some characters and locations last year, this time we get to see the Master Chief in all his glory. He isn't alone, either, as this new trailer reveals a number of characters who will be central to the plot of the show, including Cortana.
A new narrative for the TV series
Halo fans might be expecting a TV show that closely follows the narrative of the video games, and while they will get something resembling that storyline, it isn't going to be exactly the same. In a blog post to Halo Waypoint, 343 Industries revealed that Halo the TV series will be set in what's called the "Silver Timeline."
The Silver Timeline is essentially a narrative arc that runs parallel to the narrative in the Halo video games. While there will be a lot of similarities, there will also be some differences between the two. We see one of the major differences in the trailer above – instead of accidentally discovering Halo as humanity does in the video games, Master Chief's discovery of what appears to be a Forerunner artifact kicks off a search for Halo in the TV series.
It doesn't seem like the core storyline will be changing too dramatically, as humans will still be at war with the Covenant and Halo will obviously play some role in that conflict. However, if you're expecting a one-to-one translation of the video games, it sounds like you won't find it in this TV series.
A surprise release date that's right around the corner
The trailer itself is flashy and somewhat ominous, as we'd expect a Halo trailer to be. Master Chief, who's been silent in Halo TV media thus far, finally speaks in this trailer, and his voice will definitely be unfamiliar to anyone who has played the games. While Master Chief is portrayed by Steve Downes in the video games, he'll be performed by Pablo Schreiber in the TV series. Chief still has that gravelly tough-man voice in the show, but it very obviously is not Downes' voice, and that will take some getting used to for Halo veterans.
One character whose voice isn't changing is Cortana. As in the video games, Cortana will be voiced by Jen Taylor, but she does have a decidedly more human look in the Halo TV series. While TV's Cortana sounds the same, we're guessing that new look of hers will take some adjustment just as Master Chief's new voice will.
The trailer suggests that encountering that Forerunner artifact changed Master Chief from a mindless, controllable super soldier to one that feels emotion and has the capacity to question the orders he's commanded to carry out. As that blog post on Halo Waypoint explains, the Halo TV series will delve into the creation of the Spartans, and we know from existing Halo media that it was a dark time for humanity from an ethical standpoint. It seems we can expect Master Chief's life and background to play a big role in the show.
This new trailer also gave us a release date for Halo the TV series, and it'll be here sooner than most of us were probably expecting. Halo will premiere on Paramount+ on March 24th, 2022.