It will still be a while before viewers get to see Showtime's Halo TV series debut, but it's actually, officially happening now. After it was revealed in December that production had begun on the upcoming show, Showtime president of entertainment Gary Levine has shared a quick update.
Appearing at the TCA winter press tour, Levine revealed that he and his fellow president of Entertainment Jana Winograde had recently traveled to the set of the series, noting it is "is currently shooting all over the city of Budapest." Unfortunately, there was no footage from the series to screen, but Levine and Winograde did come with the first photo of Pablo Schreiber in costume as Master Chief.
Unfortunately, the image was for viewing in the room only and will not be released widely at this point. In the photo, Chief is seated on a ship in his full armor--helmet included. According to Levine, it's Schreiber in the costume, which looks like a spot-on recreation of Chief's classic armor.
There's been a lot of discussion over whether Master Chief will unmask at some point, revealing Schreiber's face. Of course, in the games, Chief never removes his helmet. When asked by GameSpot about whether viewers will see Chief's face in 2018, Levine offered, "It is a key question and an important part of our series is all I'll say."
After the success of The Mandalorian, which saw Pedro Pascal remain entirely hidden under a Mandalorian helmet, save for one small scene in the Season 1 finale, it seems entirely possible we will never actually see Chief's face.
Of course, Schreiber isn't the only cast member in the Showtime series. We have a detailed breakdown of the announced cast you can check out. However, the most notable character, after Chief, is Natasha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey/Cortana. The artificial intelligence that guides Chief on his journeys will play a big role in the series.
While there's no release date for Halo announced at this point, it's expected to debut on Showtime in 2021.