Playing Master Chief On The Halo TV Show Was No Easy Task

There are less than two months before the long-awaited Halo TV series adaptation finally debuts on Paramount+. We've seen the first full trailer for the show, setting up a war against the Covenant that included many iconic nods to the video game franchise. Now, as we get closer, we're learning about the creation of the series--and its hero.

Speaking at Paramount+'s Television Critics Association presentation for Halo, star Pablo Schreiber had some interesting information to share about his portrayal of Master Chief--specifically how the show is trying to stand on its own as a series while appealing to fans.

"One of the biggest things that we have to deal with here is the difference in making a video game versus making a TV show, and we're very squarely in the Halo universe," he said. "It's a show for people who love the Halo universe, and it's a show for people who are just discovering the Halo universe."

Within that universe, Schreiber hopes that fans are able to understand Chief on a deeper level through his take on the character. "The opportunity of playing a character like this, Master Chief is obviously one of the most iconic characters of all time, one of the most heroic characters of all time, so the opportunity to get to explore those themes and ideas--the relationship between the warrior and the hero, what are the similarities and where did they diverge--is what's really interesting for me," he explained.

What remains to be seen, though, is whether he will ever explore those similarities between the two different sides of Chief without the character's iconic helmet on. As any Halo fan knows, Master Chief has never been unmasked in the video games. The trailer hinted at viewers getting a look at the man in the suit while receiving modifications to become the Spartan warrior we all know and love. Still, we don't see his face in the trailer and there's no telling if we actually will at any point in the series.

Halo premieres March 24 on Paramount+.