Halo Series Adds Natascha McElhone as Dr. Halsey, Five Other Roles Cast

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Showtime’s series adaptation of Xbox’s iconic Halo videogame franchise has beefed up its cast, filling the roles of Dr. Catherine Halsey/Cortana, Soren-066, Admiral Parangosky and others.

Natascha McElhone (Californication), Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo), Shabana Azmi (24: India), Bentley Kalu (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Natasha Culzac (Cursed) and Kate Kennedy (BBC’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) have all boarded the Showtime/Amblin Television/343 Industries production as series regulars, alongside Pablo Schreiber (American Gods), who will star as the Master Chief Spartan John-117.

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Production will begin later this year in Budapest, with an eye on an early 2021 premiere.

McElhone will fill two roles — Dr. Catherine Halsey, the brilliant, conflicted and inscrutable creator of the Spartan supersoldiers, and Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history (and potentially the key to the survival of the human race) — while Fargo standout Woodbine will play Soren-066, a morally complex privateer at the fringes of human civilization whose fate will bring him into conflict with his former military masters and his old friend, the Master Chief.

Another character from the videogame franchise, Admiral Margaret Parangosky, will be played by Azmi.

Among the new characters created for the TV series, Kalu will play Spartan Vannak-134, a cybernetically augmented supersoldier conscripted at childhood who serves as the defacto deputy to the Master Chief; Culzac will fill the role of Spartan Riz-028, a cybernetically enhanced killing machine; and Kennedy will play Spartan Kai-125, an all-new courageous, curious and deadly Spartan supersoldier.

In addition to the aforementioned Schreiber, previously announced castings include Yerin Ha as the new character Kwan Ha, a shrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both.

Halo fans, how do you think the Showtime series is shaping up?

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