The Paramount+ adaptation of the video game series, Halo, has recently landed a popular position in the news column for its controversial scenes. Series executive producer, Kiki Wolfkill, and writers from the 343 Industries have spoken in numerous interviews detailing their decision to veer off the established identity of the legendary Master Chief in their show. The sci-fi action series has now decided to finally take things on level ground after a tumultuous first season.
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Halo Series Controversies
The game follows a cybernetically enhanced soldier from the 26th century, known only as Master Chief, as he traverses worlds and deserted landscapes and fights the enemy alien race Covenant to protect and preserve humanity.
The characteristic traits of the Master Chief that make him distinguishable from the other soldiers are his armored mask/helmet which he has never been known to take off and his super-strength, agility, and towering build. The first episode of the series adaptation of the game, however, made news when the Master Chief takes off his helmet and reveals his face to a young rebel survivor.
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The series, starring American Gods veteran Pablo Schreiber as the Spartan soldier, went on to break many conventions from the core lore of the game. Episode 8 featured Master Chief losing his virginity to a Covenant spy and this too defies the character of the soldier as established in the video game.
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Halo Season 2 Will Take A New Direction
After the convention-breaking first season of the Paramount+ series, executive producer Kiki Wolfkill has decidedly taken to heart the criticisms levied at the series content. Season 1 of Halo supposedly takes place in the “Silver Timeline” and digresses from its source material by villainizing humanity rather than the Covenant. Season 2, however, will not be following such a saturated sci-fi trope but rather take into account all the criticisms before moving forward. In an interview with GamesRadar+, Wolfkill said:
We’re still getting feedback. It’s interesting to me to see characters that are resonating or not. I will say, philosophically, [we are] absolutely looking at all of the feedback, good and bad, from each episode. And those are the things that will carry forward as learnings into season two, just like all of the learnings we had on season one [that] we get through the course of production, we’ll carry those forward. We will look at everything…We do sort of read everything on season one and we’ll think about how we shape that moving forward.
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The series which launched on 24 March 2022 has only recently come to a close. Viacom CBS has renewed it for a second season and the release date is yet to be declared.
Source: GamesRadar+
