Halo showrunner Steven Kane has explained the reasons behind seeing Master Chief’s face in the upcoming Paramount Plus series during a new interview with SFX Magazine.
"We’re going to tell a story about the man inside the helmet," Kane says. "If you read a book about the Master Chief, and there are many, they talk about him so you’re getting inside his head in a way that you wouldn’t get from playing the game. If you can give people that privileged point of view, why can’t you let them see his face?"
Master Chief, also known as John-117, has almost always kept his helmet on and his face covered in the video game series. The more introspective story of the Spartan (played by Pablo Schreiber in the TV show) has dictated a shift in thinking on the creative team’s part.
"The series is not about the game version of Master Chief," Kane continues. "It’s about the character of Master Chief in a three-dimensional, cinematic world. We leaned into it as heavily as we can, because doing a story about Master Chief’s humanity required you to get under the helmet. It became part of the structure; form and content went together."
For more on SFX’s Halo feature, including an interview with Pablo Schreiber, plus more on Marvel’s new Moon Knight series, be sure to pick up the latest issue of SFX – available March 23. You can also take advantage of our cut-price digital and print bundles and take SFX wherever you go.