The early reviews for Halo have said a lot about how the new live-action series deviates from its source material and takes certain liberties that might not sit well with fans — to put it lightly — but executive producers have stressed that they’re hoping to bring in an entirely new audience.
Steven Kane and Kiki Wolfkill, who both serve as executive producers on the series, have explained while promoting the show at SXSW that Paramount Plus series is more than just an adaptation of the beloved video games series.
Kane touched on how the series wishes to bring the mythology behind the expansive Halo universe to the fore, noting:
“We wanted to bring the Halo ethos to a new medium, and explore this, not only deep but wide canon. And show audiences worlds beyond what the game is and world build in a different way to really bring this amazing canon to life.”
Wolfkill, who actually oversees the Halo video game franchise at Microsoft’s 343 Industries, talked about how the adaptation is an opportunity to create a new visceral world.
“I’m much more used to building in virtual worlds,” she said of her time as a game designer. “But at the end of the day they are both creative endeavors and they’re both about giving people an opportunity to step into the world.”
The critical reception to this ambitious undertaking, stuck in development hell for years, has so far been a mixed bag. But a lot of reviewers have noted that Halo has the potential to really hit a home run with its first season.
Let’s hope that ends up being the case as the series starts its run on Paramount Plus come March 24.