Many fans are pleased with how the trailer looks aesthetically and how it honors Halo’s science-fiction FPS atmosphere. However, there is one aspect of the trailer that has caught fans by surprise and seems a bit off to them in terms of its adaptation. In particular, fans have collectively agreed that Paramount Plus’ Cortana looks mildly different from her Bungie and 343 Industries counterparts, which has created its biggest controversy thus far.
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How Paramount Plus’ Cortana Differs from the Halo Games’ Cortana
Halo’s franchise is over two decades old and with such a legacy of iconic characters and their portrayals, fans were quick to note the differences between the live-action and video game versions. Cortana, an artificial intelligence that can be inserted into Master Chief’s iconic Mjolnir helmet, is not a physical individual. Instead, she is intended to resemble a human being, though she is always materialized as a semi-transparent holographic image bathed in purple or blue light.
However, there is a fundamental part of Cortana’s character adapted to the series that may be a balm for fans. Paramount Plus’ Cortana, as seen and heard in the trailer, is played by the character’s authentic voice actress, Jen Taylor. Taylor is synonymous with Halo and has voiced Cortana from her earliest iteration in Halo: Combat Evolved to her latest as Halo Infinite’s Weapon. If fans are dissatisfied with the character’s physical portrayal in Paramount Plus’ show, it is perhaps tolerable that they will at least receive the most authentic performance of Cortana they could have wished for.
At first it seemed as if the negative reception was a response to Taylor’s physical interpretation of the character, but that is not the case. Instead, fans are unhappy that Cortana does not feature the distinct AI aesthetic that identifies her. It may turn out that Cortana does feature a similar color filter at some point in the series, but for now players have shared their wishes for the character to further resemble the miniature AI personality they have become fond of.
Paramount Plus’ Master Chief Hasn’t Received the Same Controversy
Interestingly, there is another significant change made in the adaptation that fans have seemingly been less vocal about. In the midst of this Cortana controversy, the reception to Master Chief’s new voice in the series’ trailer seems more agreeable to fans. Master Chief, or John-117, is perpetually adorned in armor throughout all of Halo’s previous installments. He is not the least bit emotive and his personality is defined exclusively by his stoical and composed voice, performed by Steve Downes.
However, Paramount Plus’ Master Chief has been recast. Pablo Schreiber, whose acting roles include 13 Hours and Orange Is the New Black, has instead been cast in the role. Paramount Plus’ series is confirmed to take place in a separate continuity, dubbed the Halo Silver Timeline. While this may concern purist fans of the established canon, the decision to operate individually as its own canon may invite a fresh batch of fans into the franchise’s universe, and also produce surprises for players who would otherwise know the entire Halo history.
Because this adaptation is set in another continuity, it has been inferred that Master Chief was recast so that the show could feature a younger and more able-bodied actor in the role if they were to ever take his helmet off on screen. This would explain why his voice needed to be changed for the purposes of this adaptation specifically. It appears that there are reasons for the decisions made in this adaptation, but the decision to portray Halo’s Cortana as more human than AI has yet to be clarified.
Some fans believe it may have come down to a budget concern, where rendering Halo’s Covenant Elites and other action spectacles took priority over a constant CGI color filter for Master Chief’s AI companion. Whatever the reason, fans have only seen a single shot of Taylor’s Cortana in the series. Hopefully this look will grow on fans when the Halo series launches in March, even if it is not necessarily ideal or authentic to her traditional design.
Halo will hit Paramount Plus on March 24, 2022.
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