Master Chief is closer to landing a new commander.
David Wiener (“Brave New World”) is in talks to take over showrunner duties on Paramount Plus’ “Halo,” executive producer Justin Falvey announced on Tuesday during the TCA panel for the hotly anticipated video game adaptation.
Wiener’s status with the show remains in flux, as Paramount Plus has not yet officially renewed “Halo” for Season 2. A rep for the streamer says Wiener is one of multiple candidates for a possible showrunner position.
“Halo” is set to debut on the streamer on March 24.
Based on Microsoft’s billion-dollar blockbuster gaming franchise, “Halo” has weathered a fair amount of showrunner churn for a series of its magnitude. Kyle Killen first signed on to run the series in June 2018 when it was set up at Showtime, and Steven Kane joined in March 2019 to continue developing the series with Killen. As Variety reported in June 2021, however, Kane took over as lead showrunner when Killen stepped away from the series before production began on Season 1, and then Kane decided to leave the show once his work on the inaugural season was completed.
Kane explained during the “Halo” TCA panel that he never expected to work on “Halo” for longer than one season.
“It’s such a big world that it takes 10 times more work and energy than any normal show,” he said. “It can’t be done remotely, so I was in Hungary for close to two years out of the three I was working on it. As much as I enjoyed every minute of it, it’s a long time to be away from my family.”
Falvey, who executive produces “Halo” with Darryl Frank and Steven Spielberg through Amblin Television, said they intend to produce “several seasons” of the series, especially given the vast mythology established within the “Halo” game franchise.
Wiener comes with several genre TV staples under his belt. He was a co-executive producer on AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead” and nominated for an Emmy for the short-form series “Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462.” Most recently, he was a co-executive producer on Season 2 of Amazon’s “Homecoming,” and he created the Peacock series “Brave New World,” which ran for one season.
“Halo” stars Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, the central character in the main “Halo” games, with costars Natascha McElhone, Jen Taylor, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Bentley Kalu, Natasha Culzac, Kate Kennedy, Danny Sapani, Olive Gray, and Charlie Murphy.
Showtime and video game developer 343 Industries are producing “Halo,” which moved from the pay cable outlet to Paramount Plus in February 2021. Otto Bathurst and Toby Leslie will executive produce for One Big Picture, with Bathurst directing multiple episodes. Kiki Wolfkill, Frank O’Connor and Bonnie Ross are executive producing with 343 Industries.
