Halo Transmedia Boss Says Bringing the Game to TV Is a "Mind-Bending Challenge"

As part of a new episode of Gary Whitta's Animal Talking, the talk show that takes place entirely [...]

By Rollin Bishop

As part of a new episode of Gary Whitta's Animal Talking, the talk show that takes place entirely within Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch, 343 Industries' Kiki Wolfkill, head of transmedia for Halo, offered some new insight into the upcoming Showtime television series based on the gaming franchise. More specifically, Wolfkill called the process of translating Halo to TV a "mind-bending challenge" and more.

"How do we take something and not try and verbatim translate it to a different medium. But how do we look at what the experience can mean for people?" Wolfkill said according to a transcription of the episode by GameSpot. "For me, I look at it as how do people feel when they come out of playing the game, or how do they feel after reading one of the novels. Or engaging in any of the different kinds of experiences that we have. Because that's the core of what the universe is and entering the universe should mean."

"You also want it to be different, because the whole point of going to a different medium is to let yourself and let the IP express itself in a different way," she continued. "With television, we get long-form storytelling. We get to develop characters. We get to really dig into their backgrounds and their motivations and who they are emotionally. And they can express it as themselves as opposed to needing to reflect who they are through some of the other characters as we do in the games."

The Halo television series previously had an expected release window of 2021, but it is unclear at this point whether that is still the case with the coronavirus-related shutdowns in Hollywood and elsewhere. The series stars Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey/Cortana, and more. Xbox is expected to show off more of the latest and greatest Halo video game, Halo Infinite, later this month. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the Halo franchise right here.

What do you think about what we've heard about the Halo television series so far? Are you excited to watch it should it ever finally release? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

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