Halo is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. As such, ever since the production for the TV show got underway, the Pablo Schreiber-led story has been under the scanner.
Fans weren’t happy with major casting decisions, feeling some actors didn’t appear anything like the characters in the game. The military science fiction television series officially premiered in 2022 and further divided opinion with its nine episodes.
Hardcore followers of the franchise didn’t appreciate the showrunners’ decision to overlook much of the source material by introducing new characters and storylines. The mild tone of the video game adaptation also didn’t sit very well with many fans. Schreiber’s comments ahead of Season 2’s premiere suggest he wasn’t best pleased with it either.
Pablo Schreiber Explains How Season 2 of Halo Is Different to Season 1
The Paramount+ series about Master Chief John-117 and his team of Spartans’ fight to save humanity from the alien threat known as the Covenant is set to return to our screens on February 8.
It appears Pablo Schreiber and new showrunner David Wiener have taken the fan sentiment into account before shaping the next chapter of Halo. In particular, Schreiber seemed pretty delighted while talking about Season 2 having a different tone. The 45-year-old said (via Halo on Paramount+):
“The biggest difference between Season One and Season Two is the tone. And there’s a darker tone to it. The fighting and the action sequences feel like you’re more a part of them. You’re in the action a lot more and a lot of that was due to the new additions of people that were brought in through the art department and through the stunt department.”
In the same interview, producer Kiki Wolfkill revealed Season 2 is set six months after the events of Season 1.
Akin to Schreiber, she also suggested there’s going to be more grim sequences for viewers this while, with humanity finding itself on the back foot.
Why Steven Kane Left Pablo Schreiber’s Halo Series
Many things went wrong before Wolfkill managed to turn the video game into a series. The idea got the green light at Showtime in 2018.
Soon after, it lost its director and executive producer Rupert Wyatt. Then Paramount+ picked it up and roped in Kyle Killen as the showrunner. Before production of Schreiber’s show began, she was replaced by Steven Kane. After overseeing Season 1, Kane announced he would not return for another season due to personal reasons.
Speaking at the 2022 Television Critics Association Halo presentation (via ScreenRant), he admitted:
“I never really thought it would be a more than one season thing just because of the amount of work it takes. It’s a very challenging show to write and produce. So, I came in and sort of redeveloped and fleshed out and did my work, but it can’t be done remotely. So I was in Hungary for close to two years out of the three I was working on it. As much as I enjoyed every minute of it, it’s a long time to be away from my family. My kids were in their final years of high school and so I didn’t want to leave again.”
Wiener took over the helm for Season 2. In the next few days, it’ll be interesting to see how Halo fans would react to seeing his vision for Master Chief’s story.
