The Master Chief’s helmet is peeling off – that’s the real reason

From the start, fans have wondered what the Master Chief looked like under that helmet, and it will finally come out in the next Alone TV show. While this has upset some fans, it turns out showrunners are doing it for good reason.

The decision to show the Master Chief’s face was the most controversial aspect of the upcoming Paramount + Alone Television program that will debut on March 24th. But the show’s executive producers and Master Chief star Pablo Schreiber talked about why the helmet should come off in an interview with GameSpot.

According to executive producer and veteran Halo game development Kiki Wilfkill, “We set out to tell a story about Master Chief and, in particular, to tell a story about John.” As a result, “John is someone we explore in books, not the side of him we tend to explore in games. And so that was a very story decision. And it became so clear, as we were examining what that journey would be like. and what it means for John to discover his humanity and his place in the world and his place in the UNSC that you had to be able to see him out of the armor and without the helmet.

This makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Part of exploring John’s origin is to humanize him, and it’s hard to do if he stands as a voice behind a large green mask. And if you’re worried that the show will treat this as some kind of throwaway joke or gag, you don’t have to be.

As executive producer Steven Kane puts it, “We knew very well that we were going to treat this moment with the respect it deserved.” As a result of that desire, “we leaned on that and really shot the whole season about that moment, even though there are eight more episodes because the show is really about getting into the helmet, getting behind the visor and seeing John. And then, to make it even more integral, we made this season really about John finding out who John is. And so John is on the road with us. “

And no one is more involved in the need to unmask Chief than his star, Pablo Schreiber. As he said, “For the long-running television storytelling format, it is essential that you have access to the face like that [that] you have access to the inner life of the character, ”he explained. “Like this [that] an audience can accompany the character on the long journey of a journey. You really need to know your character to break down the barrier between them.

Continuing, Shrieber said, “Master Chief, the character was created for a first person shooter video game where you are asked to believe you are the boss. And so the character is created in a very vague and opaque way, a man of few words. He is essentially a symbol for all of us. He is a symbol of courage, courage, effectiveness in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. His dry sense of humor in difficult times. So those elements, the symbolic elements of the character, were sacred and had to be there. And everything else in the video game, you have to fill in with your personality, so that you can feel like you are facing the game.

This is a very important point. To a very real extent, Chief has always been a player surrogate and this allows players to determine how he really feels for everyone from the Covenant to Cortana. With this TV show set in his universe, it’s important that Chief is his character. Taking off the helmet humanizes the hero as he sends a not-so-subtle message: no matter how long you’ve been playing, this isn’t necessarily the boss you know.

But will we love this new portrait of Chief? It is up to the spectators to decide. The Alone The television show will debut Thursday on Paramount +. What do you hope to see in this show? Let us know in the comments!