‘Halo’ Without a (Master) Chief: Kyle Killen Has Left Paramount+ Series, Steven Kane to Exit Ahead of Potential Season 2
Kyle Killen, the original showrunner on the Paramount+ “Halo” adaptation, has exited the upcoming streaming series. His fellow co-showrunner, Steven Kane, will remain with the show through Season 1 post-production. That’s the good news. The bad news: should “Halo” get renewed for a second season, Kane will not return.
Kane was brought in to take some of the work off Killen’s plate. He’ll leave should the showed get a Season 2 in order to be closer to his family, a person with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap. It has not proven easy to do that from Budapest, where “Halo” is still (read: STILL) in production.
The “Halo” TV series, an adaptation of the hugely popular Xbox video-game franchise, was originally set at Showtime, but was then moved ViacomCBS’ Paramount+ streaming service. The adaptation of the popular Xbox video game, which stars Pablo Schrieber, is set to premiere in early 2022. Other cast members starring on “Halo” include Shabana Azmi, Bentley Kalu, Natasha Culzac, Kate Kennedy and Yerin Ha.
“Halo,” which was ordered to series at Showtime in 2018, “will take place in the universe that first came to be in 2001, dramatizing an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant,” per its official description. “‘Halo’ will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.
Along with Schreiber as Master Chief Spartan John-117, “Halo” stars Natascha McElhone as Dr. Halsey, the brilliant, conflicted and inscrutable creator of the Spartan super soldiers, and Jen Taylor as Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history, and potentially the key to the survival of the human race. Additional stars include Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy and Danny Sapani.
It’s been slow going for the “Halo” adaptation over the past few years, which underwent a director change in 2019 when Otto Bathurst stepped in for Rupert Wyatt, and, much like every other series, has been delayed due to the pandemic.
Executive producers include Kane, Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television in partnership with 343 Industries, director Bathurst and Toby Leslie for One Big Picture and Killen and Scott Pennington for Chapter Eleven. Kiki Wolfkill, Frank O’Connor and Bonnie Ross serve as executive producers for 343 Industries.
The series will be distributed globally by CBS Studios International.
Variety first reported the news of Killen’s exit and Kane’s future plans.
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