Ahead of Halo season 2’s release, showrunner David Wiener and producer Kiki Wolfkill explain how the new episodes tackle the universe-shaping tragedy of the Fall of Reach. The Paramount+ series is based on the influential video game franchise and follows a highly-trained super-soldier’s battles against a powerful alien alliance known as The Covenant. Season 2 adapts events leading into the story of the original 2001 video game Halo: Combat Evolved, as The Covenant invades Reach.
As Halo season 2 adapts the Fall of Reach, Wiener and Wolfkill opened up to Screen Rant about bringing the tragic battle to screens. Due to the higher stakes and importance, Wiener set out to frame the events in a way that throws audiences into the struggle alongside the cast. Check out Wiener and Wolfkill’s comments when asked about the Fall of Reach below:
David Wiener: Well, we can only speculate. I’d say that there are certain parts of the Halo universe and events that are, I think, so emotionally resonant that they really belong in dramatic form. Whether it’s the Fall of Reach or any of the other places that we’ll go in this season, it gives an opportunity to see our characters in the most high-stakes [situations] with immediate struggles, where it’s survival on the line.
Part of that is supported by the tone and the perspective that we use in shooting. In this case, we go with a very subjective perspective throughout, with a lot of oners and a lot of continuous action to give us that sense that we’re in the fight with our Spartans. And the benefit of that is that we, as the audience, are grounded not only in the fine line between horror and action, but also in the emotional stakes of will they or won’t they. Because they may not survive.
Kiki Wolfkill: It is a huge moment in Halo. And you feel the events of Reach in a way that is very different from how you may experience it in books or games. You feel the impact of what it is to be there.
This is a developing story…
Halo
A live-action adaptation of the video game franchise of the same name, Halo follows Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 (Pablo Schrieber) as he fights his part in a war between humanity’s United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Covenant, an alliance of multiple hostile races of aliens intent on destroying the human race. The Master Chief is supported by Cortana (Jen Taylor) – an AI construct based on the personality of Dr. Catherine Halsey, who created the Spartan supersoldier program – implanted in his brain.
- Release Date
- March 24, 2022
- Cast
- Jen Taylor , Bokeem Woodbine , Charlie Murphy , Shabana Azmi , Kate Kennedy , Natascha McElhone , Yerin Ha , Bentley Kalu , Pablo Schreiber , Danny Sapani , Olive Gray , Natasha Culzac
- Seasons
- 2
- Creator(s)
- Kyle Killen , Steven Kane
- Writers
- Kyle Killen , Silka Luisa , Richard Robbins , Steven Kane , Justine Juel Gillmer
- Franchise(s)
- Halo
- Directors
- Otto Bathurst , Jonathan Liebesman , Roel Reiné , Dennie Gordon , Debs Paterson , Craig Zisk , Jessica Lowrey
- Showrunner
- Kyle Killen
- Where To Watch
- Paramount+
