Having enlisted Pablo Schreiber (American Gods) to portray the iconic Master Chief back in April, Showtime has now added a further six names to the cast of its hotly-anticipated TV adaptation of the bestselling video game franchise Halo.
As reported by THR, Natascha McElhone (Designated Survivor), Bokeem Woodbine (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Shabana Azmi (Neerja), Bentley Kalu (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Natasha Culzac (The Witcher) and Kate Kennedy (Catastrophe).
McElhone is set for the dual roles of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the creator of the Spartan supersoldiers, and Cortana, “the most advanced AI in human history who may be the key to the survival of the human race”, with Woodbine playing Soren-066 and Azmi as Admiral Margaret Parangosky. Kalu, Culzac and Kennedy are set to star as newly created Spartan characters Vannak-134, Riz-028 and Kai-125 respectively.
Speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour, Showtime president Gary Levine discussed the series, stating that: “There’s all kinds of new drama that we will be exploring but we will stay faithful to the canon. We’re not going to violate anything that’s in the canon. We’ve been lucky to have 343 Industries working with us every step of the way. They’ve been a great resource for suggesting things that we weren’t aware of and also at times to say sometimes something violates something in the canon.”
Steven Kane (The Last Ship) and Kyle Killen (Lone Star) are serving as showrunners on Halo, with Otto Bathurst (Robin Hood) directing. Filming is set to get underway in the autumn ahead of an expected premiere on Showtime in April 2021.
