Update: The Halo TV series teaser was originally shown during today's Xbox Anniversary event. It will arrive on Paramount+ in 2022. The original story continues below.
We've finally gotten a glimpse of the Halo series coming to Paramount+, but it seems to have come from an unintentional leak.
Ahead of Xbox's 20th Anniversary event – which is likely where this video was meant to be debuted – DexertoSpartans (below) reported that a teaser for the show was running on Facebook advertising.
The teaser includes a series of extreme close-ups of Master Chief's armour, showing the live action versions of his gloves, 117 insignia, and the back of his head as his helmet's put on. That's followed by the voice of Cortana saying, "Hello, Master Chief," alongside a shot of the front of the helmet.
A new teaser for the Halo TV Series has appeared on Facebook ads early
The show is set to release in 2022 on Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/8OG2NSC4L0
— Spartans News (@DexertoSpartans) November 15, 2021
After many previous attempts – from a Neill Blomkamp project that never came about to a disappointing Ridley Scott-produced spin-off – we finally got word of a full-on Halo TV series in 2018.
Originally destined for Showtime before moving to Paramount+, the show will include Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Danny Sapani and Olive Gray as Jacob and Miranda Keyes, Bokeem Woodbine as Soren-066, Shabana Azmi as Admiral Margaret Parangosky, Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey, and Bentley Kalu, Natasha Culzac and Kate Kennedy as three new Spartan characters.
In a nod to the games series, Jen Taylor will reprise the voice of Cortana, after playing Master Chief's AI sidekick/helmet implant in all the mainline games. Earlier this year, we learned that the project lost both of its showrunners. Kyle Killen left the project last year, while Steven Kane will finish Season 1 but not return for any potential Season 2.
Reporters were previously given a look at Schreiber's Master Chief behind closed doors, and we came away impressed with the version coming to your screens. "The photo shows Chief seated alone on a ship," we wrote at the time. "Everything from Schreiber's detailed costume to the inside of the vessel feels very authentic to the Halo video game franchise."
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].