Halo Producer Explains Why Pablo Schreiber Is the Perfect Master Chief

At long last, one of the most popular video game franchises in history has made its way to TV. The first episode of the live-action Halo TV series made its debut on Paramount+ on Thursday, allowing fans of the franchise to see the iconic Master Chief in action. For years and years, Halo players wondered who could step into the boots of Master Chief and lead the battle against the Covenant. The role ultimately went to American Gods and Orange Is the New Black standout Pablo Schreiber, a decision that many of the minds behind Halo couldn’t be happier about.

Kiki Wolfkill oversees the Halo game franchise and serves as executive producer for the new Paramount+ series, so it’s safe to say there are few people around who know more about Master Chief than she does. While speaking to ComicBook.com about this week’s Halo premiere, Wolfkill opened up about why Schreiber was the perfect choice to portray the iconic sci-fi hero.

“I will say that objectively was a fan of his work before he was proposed for this role and loved the idea from the get go,” Wolfkill told us. “And after meeting him, he is an incredibly committed and passionate person. And he was so excited and curious about the character and curious about the things that people love about the character. And there was such an intensity and such a focus in how he approached bringing Chief to life. But also he has the ability to project both strength and vulnerability at the same time. And that was so critical for the John part of the Master Chief character. And he has incredible physicality. You see him in Den of Thieves, right? And his ability to move with precision and incredible muscle control and spatial awareness is super important to being able to both wear the suit well, move in the suit well, but also to act through the suit. So it really was the perfect melding of physical and creative intellectual.”

Now that Halo is out in the world for everyone to experience, fans will finally have the ability to decide for themselves how they feel about Schreiber’s take on Master Chief. Putting a face to a traditionally mask-less character is always tough, but the team behind Halo clearly believes Schreiber is the right Spartan for the job.

The first episode of Halo is now available to stream on Paramount+.