South African filmmaker steps behind the camera with direction Halo S2 finale. The Paramount+ original series, based on the iconic Xbox franchise and one of the highest-grossing game franchises of all time, will be available to binge on Showmax in Africa from this Friday, 20 May 2022.
With CBR hailing the series as “a compelling, gorgeous sci-fi adventure” and The Wrap proclaiming that the show “has the potential to be Paramount+’s flagship series”, Halo set a new record as the most-watched original series premiere globally on Paramount+ in its first 24 hours of release.
Emmy nominee Pablo Schreiber brings humanity’s deadliest weapon – and our greatest hope – to life as the iconic Master Chief. As The Guardian says, “Whoever decided to cast Schreiber, the character actor veteran of shows such as Orange is the New Black (as dodgy prison guard “Pornstache”) and American Gods, as an action hero deserves a medal. Standing 196cm tall and now built like a tank, he makes just the sort of imposing, statuesque figure required for a seemingly unstoppable human battle machine.”
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The first season of Halo is executive produced by Steven Kane, alongside Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television in partnership with 343 Industries, Otto Bathurst and Toby Leslie for One Big Picture, and Kyle Killen and Scott Pennington for Chapter Eleven. Kiki Wolfkill, Frank O’Connor and Bonnie Ross serve as executive producers for 343 Industries.
Showrunner and executive producer Steven Kane (The Last Ship) agrees. Speaking at the premiere, he said that while they’ve “infused every frame of the film with everything we could from the Halo canon”, he hopes “the uninitiated will come to this as a story on its own merits, of a man trying to find his humanity.”
If the Halo universe sounds worlds away, it’s closer to home than you think: South African Jonathan Liebesman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) directs four episodes, including this week’s finale, with compatriot Guy Potgieter (District 9, Homeland) as set decorator and Dale Butler as first assistant director.
