After a successful and mostly well-received first season, production has started on the eagerly anticipated second season of theHalotelevision series from Paramount Plus. This news comes months after the first season’s cliffhanger ending, which has fans chomping at the bit for any and all details regarding the upcoming second season.The Paramount PlusHalotelevision show was first officially revealed in 2013 by Steven Spielberg, who was set to work on the project as an executive producer. While updates such asHalo’s move from Showtime to Paramount Plusand its subsequent 2022 release date were made public, fans saw little of the actual production until the 2021 Game Awards, where fans got a proper announcement and a first look at the Master Chief, who was confirmed to be portrayed by Pablo Schreiber. Based on the supremely popular video game series of the same name, the live-actionHaloadaptation follows game protagonist Master Chief as he journeys to save humanity and discovers secrets buried within his memory along the way.RELATED:343 Industries Founder and Studio Head Bonnie Ross is Leaving the CompanyThe officialHalo Twitterpage sent out a short tweet announcing the commencement of filming for the second season along with a picture of some of the Spartan cast members, with leading actor Schreiber front and center. Kai-125 actress Kate Kennedy, Vannak-134 actor Bentley Kalu, and Riz-028 actress Natasha Culzac are also featured in the photo, grinning wide and throwing up peace signs on either side of Schreiber. The backdrop features a picturesque brook with dark, moss-spangled land formations on both sides, with the tweet indicating that this filming location is somewhere in Iceland.
This marks a change in locale from the 9-episode-long first season, which was largely filmed on location in Ontario, Canada, and Budapest, Hungary. Production for season 1 started in October of 2019, with issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing delays. Despite these hardships, the cast and crewgot back to filmingHaloin November of 2020 and likely found solace in the fact that the show was renewed for a second before it aired, ensuring that production would only be halted for a short period as showrunners prepared for the next installment in the story.
Despite its success by many metrics, the show has been met with mixed feelings from a portion of theHalofanbase, primarily from those unsatisfied with the direction the show has gone in and how it differs from the storyline as presented in the games. This criticism persists despite executive director Kiki Wolfill clarifying as early as December 2021 that theHaloshow would have its own canonseparate from that of the games, books, and other previous media. She revealed this in a short clip uploaded on Twitter, in which she also dubbed the new timeline theHaloSilver timeline and expressed a desire to see both timelines grow and be enjoyed in tandem.
However, the general response to the show has been positive, with even staunch critics acknowledging the scenic locations, great performances, and amazing action sequences that the first season showed off. In light of the threads left hanging after the finale of the first season, even the small contingent of fans who are opposed to the silver timeline’schanges to Master Chieflikely can’t help but wait impatiently to see where the show goes next.
Haloseason 1 is now available on Paramount Plus.
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