From video game to TV series: how much has Halo been penalized?

From video game to TV series

The relationship between videogame worlds and cinematographic transpositions has never been one of the most profitable. Without bothering with a never too forgotten Super Mario Bros, we cannot deny that the pixel universes have hardly benefited in moving on the big and small screen, so much so that every time the umpteenth transposition is announced, worried murmurs begin to be heard. A skepticism that had also reappeared with Halo, a TV series that touched a cult setting for gamers, which became famous not only for its gameplay but for being an example of world building, with the creation of a universe that involved other media, such as comics and novels.

Such a wealth of information and detail is not only a wealth for screenwriters, but also a condemnation, as hardline fans are reluctant to forgive errors and omissions. Yet, at the end of the first season of Halo, aired on Sky and Now, we can recognize this transposition of having taken the right liberties, while still offering a respectful vision of the Master Chief's world.

Halo fans have been waiting for almost two decades to finally see their videogame alter ego on the small screen, letting themselves be influenced by the presence of high-sounding names such as Steven Spielberg, who we have found as a producer of the series, or budget stratospheric, which reached 200 million dollars. Being able to recreate what was discovered and loved in our games was a utopia, it must be said. Video games and cinema, although they are often juxtaposed on a visual level, are animated by profoundly different grammars, they appeal to different emotional ties with the ultimate user, thus forcing a revision of both the narrative mechanics and the assumptions of the stories themselves. Reason why the two screenwriters of the first season of Halo, Steven Kane and Kyle Kellen, have chosen to borrow the essential traits of the figure of John-117, aka Master Chief, within a different narrative, which knew how to get even closer to skiing -fi television.

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From videogame to TV series: how much has the world of Halo been penalized?

Choice intelligent, regarded as the public looking for adventures among the stars, find themselves short of alternatives. The conclusion of The Expanse, the touchstone of recent television seasons, has left a void that is currently being filled mainly by the two sci-fi universes par excellence, Star Wars (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi ) and Star Trek (Picard, Discovery, Strange New Worlds), making room for sporadic high-end productions such as Apple TV's Foundation. The lore of the videogame series is certainly an excellent starting point, which the two screenwriters have interpreted in the best way to offer viewers a series that had an evident solidity, not rigidly linked to videogame continuity. An identity that had been well clarified from the very first bars of the production of the series, when it was specified how Halo would move in a time dimension different from the videogame one.


Humanity has conquered the stars, giving life to a colonization that has led to the birth of outposts in space that intend to claim their autonomy from the mother planet. On the planet Madrigal, the local guerrillas oppose the troops of the USNC, the land army, preparing to withstand a military assault, frightened only by the potential arrival of the Spartans. Upgraded soldiers equipped with advanced equipment, Spartans are the human military elite, unstoppable killing machines and known throughout the galaxy for their ferocious efficiency.

When the Madrigal outpost is attacked, the former thought is that the USNC has finally made its move. Well soon the colonists, including young Quan Ha (Yerin Ha), discover that unknown aliens are attacking. When all seems lost, the Silver Team comes to their rescue, a special team of Spartans led by the Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber). After defeating the Covenant, the Spartans investigating the presence of the Covenants on Madrigal discover a mysterious artifact, which, inadvertently activated by the Master Chief, reacts to the super soldier causing him visions. From this revelation, an adventure begins for the Master Chief that has the survival of humanity at stake, but also the truth about his past. At the same time, the Covenant aliens are on the hunt for a legendary device, which could prove to be the winning weapon against humans. Ironically, Makee is just a human, welcomed into Covenant society because of her particular predisposition to search for artifacts.

A first season that is purposeful, but not very incisive

Halo Series + Videogame Technically, Halo shows that it has known how to give the right look to the typical features of the saga, such as armor and weapons, with a good realization of alien creatures too. Some of the most well-known settings, such as Reach, and the technological design of human society are well taken care of, but we cannot overlook some qualitative drops, which show seemingly inexplicable limits. If Madrigal can be accepted in his Spartan vision as an indication of the brutality of this world, the realization of the world in which Master Chief comes into possession of the Keystone is disappointing, which almost appears to be the result of a hasty and far from cured workmanship. unfortunately contributing due to a drop in the pathos of the highlight of the first series.