Halo, the epic new series from Paramount+, was adapted from the wildly popular video game franchise by the same name. Centered on a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier known as Master Chief that defends humanity from the alien Covenant in the 26th century, the video game title has sold over 81 million copies since its initial release in 2001. Given that it has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, it was only natural that producers and creatives would be desperate to adapt it for live-action audiences.
We spoke with the executive producers of the new television adaptation, Kiki Wolfkill and Steven Kane, about the journey they embarked on getting Halo from game to screen and the lessons they learned while making the sci-fi series. Check out the compilation video of Screen Rant‘s various interviews with the cast and crew, and read the full transcript below:
Screen Rant: Can you talk about getting to this point? Because this has been in what I think we can call developmental hell for a while. What does getting to this moment feel like?
Kiki Wolfkill: I like to think of it as a journey. But you’re right. I think we announced in 2013, so it’s definitely been a ways to get here. But what I will say is now that we’re finally at this point, which I’m still slightly in disbelief about, the time was worth it for a few reasons.
Adapting is hard. Finding the right creative combination – not just the creative talent, but also the combination of creatives – is so important. And I think getting to this point let us really figure out the right story to tell, and the right pieces to come together. I think, in a way, it was a blessing in disguise. If we had somehow pulled off doing this super quickly, it wouldn’t have been as thoughtful as we hoped it would be.
The goal wasn’t that we just want halo on television. For us, the goal was that we want to tell this really interesting character story about the Master Chief and John, and we want to build out this universe in a way that delights fans but also introduces Halo to a new audience. And that took a lot of time to figure out.
Steven Kane: I started in traditional television, where you had to crank out episodes very quickly to get them on the air and tried to do the best we could to make them as good as possible. But with Halo, we have a chance to make every episode bespoke and handmade, and really make each one like a feature film. And that takes time, and takes a lot of learning and a lot of trial and error.
Doing a show this big, you think certain things are going to be difficult, and they end up being easy. And then things you don’t expect are hard. It was a long journey, just even from the time I started three years ago. Then in the middle of it, COVID comes and we get sent home for six months. And we use those six months to go, “What have we learned so far?”
I went back into the scripts, we went back into post-production, we did visual effects work –
Kiki Wolfkill: We caught up on a lot.
Steven Kane: We caught up on a lot of stuff. And then when we came back, even though it was really challenging to work under those conditions because of COVID, we were a tighter knit group and and we really executed an even higher level.
I feel like [for] every little moment of every episode, beneath it are thousands of moments that led to that. To be able to do that uncompromisingly is a rare gift in television.
I put on the episode, and it pops off. I don’t wanna give anything away, but I am just in. Can you talk about the tone of this show and what fans should know going in?
Kiki Wolfkill: I think, from a Halo perspective, Halo has always been sci-fi and epic scale, but also very human relatable stories. I think we’re able to open up really expressing the world, and expressing it in a relatable way. You’re seeing people, you’re seeing everyday things, and then we do very quickly get into the action adventure that is a huge aspect of Halo.
And hopefully, as the episodes play out, you also start to get that character journey that really is the center of the season.
Steven Kane: Yeah, I think she said it great. It’s just the idea of using the audience in a little bit, so that you’re seeing real people. You’re also hearing about the Spartans before you see them, and you’re hearing about what they can do. It kind of catches you up to the gamers in a small way – those who know the game.
You think you know them, because you’ve heard a little bit about them, and then you meet them and actually learn more about them in a way. It teases you, brings you in, and then opens the door for you actually to go under the hood and learn about these characters.
Halo Synopsis: A Paramount+ Original
In its adaptation for Paramount Plus, Halo will take place in the universe that first came to be in 2001 with the launch of Xbox’s first Halo game. Dramatizing an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant, Halo the series will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.
You can watch more interviews, such as with Pablo Schreiber as well as Natascha McElhone and Olive Gray, on our site.
Halo is currently streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering every Thursday.
