Halo Adaptations Need to Stop Including Master Chief
After years of development hell, the Halo television series finally premiered last week on Paramount Plus. Its reception, however, has been lukewarm; with some praising the series for its polished production, and many others criticizing its unoriginal approach. Critics have more specifically written that the series is derivative of other more recognizable sci-fi shows. For a series as iconic as Halo, many fans are disappointed to see such a mediocre adaptation. The problem at its core may just be Master Chief, though.
The first Halo game was released in 2001. Since then, the series has seen a wide variety of multimedia adaptations. There are over 30 Halo books, for instance, in addition to the games, comics, and toys released under Halo branding. In most of these adaptations, Master Chief is front and center. The more successful stories outside of the trilogy, however, focus on other aspects of the Halo universe.
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To understand why a Halo adaptation is better off without Master Chief, it's important to revisit what the original developers of Halo had to say about him. During interviews with Bungie's staff, Joseph Staten (Halo's writing director, now head of creative) said Master Chief «is a husk, he is a big green suit of armor that you move around.»
The creators of Halo intentionally left Master Chief as a «blank slate» because they believed it would be easier for players to connect with him and imagine themselves in his armor. It may seem like a cop-out, but Bungie didn't hesitate to flesh out every other main character: The Arbiter and his quest for redemption, Miranda Keyes living up to her father's legacy, Dr. Halsey reconciling with the SPARTAN-II program. The choice to make Master Chief a husk
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