Is the Halo TV Series Canon?

Now that the Halo TV series has released its first episode on Paramount+, some fans might be wondering just how much they have to know about the continuity of the Xbox games, and more specifically: Is the Halo TV series canon? Thankfully, Halo executive producer Kiki Wolfkill previously confirmed that the series takes place inside what’s being called the “Silver Timeline,” which is separate from the continuity that’s been going on since 2001. More information on the Silver Timeline was actually provided in a post to the official Halo Waypoint website where franchise creative director Frank O’Connor detailed how the show will take cues from the games, while also building something different.

“Basically, we want to use the existing Halo lore, history,canon, and characters wherever they make sense for a linear narrative,but also separate the two distinctly so that we don’t invalidate thecore canon or do unnatural things to force a first-person video gameinto an ensemble TV show. The game canon and its extended lore innovels, comics, and other outlets is core, original, and will continueunbroken for as long as we make Halo games,” said O’Connor.

O’Connor went on to say that the show will establish differences from the games early on, most notably in the way that Master Chief and Cortana stumble across the Halo ring, making it less of a coincidence. There will still be plenty of elements pulled from the games, but the storyline will diverge in other ways. 343 Industries community writer Alex Wakeford also points out that the move will allow the show to pull “obscure things from the expanded universe to the foreground.” 

Some fans will undoubtedly be disappointed that the series isn’t in the same continuity as the games, but it will be interesting to see how it benefits the show. The move should help newcomers jump into the series, which could lead them to the games, as well. Hopefully, the show will find a way to please both casual audiences and the Halo faithful!

As noted above, the first episode of the Halo television series, “Contact,” is now available on Paramount+. New episodes will release on Thursdays. The series stars Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey, Jen Taylor as the voice of Cortana, Yerin Ha as Kwan Ha, and more. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the upcoming Halo TV show right here. And you can catch Halo directly on Paramount+ right here.  

What do you think about the Halo series on Paramount+? Wereyou hoping the series would be in the canon of the games? Let us know inthe comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!