Halo premiers on Paramount+ next month, and its showrunners have already answered one of the series’ biggest questions: yes, you will see Master Chief’s face for the first time.
IGN’s Ryan McCaffery interviewed Halo’s cast and creators and when he popped the million-dollar question, the show’s executive producer and 343 Industries Head of Transmedia Kiki Wolfkill confirmed Chief’s face will be shown. She explains it as a storytelling necessity by saying “We set out to tell a character story and a personal story, and once we really got into what that story was, it became clear that you really needed to see the person in the armor and under the helmet. So you will.”
Wolfkill continues by saying “We absolutely respect both sides of that fence, those who really want to see Chief’s face and those who really don’t. But for the nature of this story, it felt really important to connect with the Master Chief in a different way, and that meant showing the face.”
Of course, given that Pablo Schreiber is portraying Master Chief (who participates in IGN’s interview), a quick Google Image search on the actor gives you a good idea of what to expect so Chief’s live-action appearance isn’t the biggest secret in the world. It now becomes a question of how often we’ll see his face. Will it only be once or twice or will Chief pull a Boba Fett and spend half of his screentime unmasked? We’ll have to watch to find out, but for fans declaring this decision as sacrilege, you can always take solace in the fact that Halo exists in a separate timeline and, thus, is not canon to the main series. That means that the identity of the original Master Chief remains largely preserved (assuming you haven’t read the comics/books that detail his facial features).
Halo premieres on March 24 on Paramount+ and it’s already been renewed for a second season. You can watch the most recent trailer here, though the show is facing opposition due to a lawsuit from Halo’s original composers.
How do you feel about the decision to show Chief’s face? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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