Halo TV Show Recasts Cortana With Someone You Know Very Well

It's been a while since we've heard anything about the Halo TV series in the works at Showtime. After going into production at the end of 2019, the making of the series was paused--like almost every other TV show and film--due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With shows and films slowly going back into production, we're finally getting some new and interesting information about the video game adaptation.

It was originally revealed that Natasha McElhone (Californication) would take on the role of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the person behind the Spartan supersoldier program, as well as the artificial intelligence construct Cortana. After all, in the game Cortana is based on a cloned copy of Halsey's brain. However, a major casting change has taken place.

While McElhone will continue playing the role of Halsey, she will no longer portray Cortana. According to a report from IGN, Jen Taylor--the actress that's played Cortana in all of the main Halo video games--will portray the blue AI character. It remains to be seen, though, whether Taylor will simply voice a CGI character or actually appear in-person on the show.

Whatever the case, she joins an impressive cast for the series. In addition to McElhone as Halsey, Halo will star Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, and a number of other actors and actresses playing roles from the Halo video games and companion novels.

Chances are, though, the thing you're most curious about is the one question on everyone's mind: Will we see Master Chief's face? In the games, he never takes off his helmet. That could change for the series, though Showtime hasn't confirmed one way or the other. "It is a key question and an important part of our series is all I'll say," the network's president Gary Levine previously told GameSpot.

At this point, a release date has not been announced for the Halo TV series.