For the first time since the character’s debut on Xbox in 2001 (or in 1999 at Macworld, if we’re being annoyingly specific), Master Chief’s face will be revealed in the upcoming TV show for Paramount Plus.
343 Industries Studio Head of Transmedia Kiki Wolfkill broke the news when speaking on a panel for IGN’s FanFest celebration:
“I think we set out to tell a character story and a personal story, and once we really got into what that story was, it became clear that you really needed to see the person in the armour and under the helmet.”
She then confirmed, “you will see his face.”
In the Legendary ending of Halo 5: Guardians, Master Chief’s armor does in fact come off to reveal his old, withered eyes, which is the closest anyone has ever been to officially seeing the helmet come off.
Pablo Schreiber is playing Master Chief in this version of the Halo story retelling, which was confirmed on the Halo Waypoint blog to deviate from Halo canon, in what the 343 Industries team calls the “Silver Timeline,” referring to the central fireteam, and acknowledging the silver screen as it were.
Therefore, this Steve Downes-less Halo is not replacing the Halo games, but operating in a “parallel, VERY similar, but ultimately separate timelines whose main events and characters will intersect and align throughout their very different cadences.”
Halo launches on Paramount+ in just over a month, on March 24.