Showtime's live-action Halo TV show is coming into focus with the casting of several major characters.

During the TCA press tour presentation, Showtime revealed Californication alum Natasha McElhone will voice Cortana, per GameSpot. The character is an important companion to Master Chief in the original video game series. McElhone will also portray Dr. Catherine Halsey, who's responsible for the Spartan supersoldier program that created Master Chief; Cortana is actually based on a copy of Halsey's brain. McElhone also had roles in shows such as Designated Survivor and The First.

via: The Wrap

McElhone will be starring alongside American Gods alum Pablo Schreiber, who was previously cast as Master Chief John-117. Other new castings include Next of Kin star Shabana Azmi as Admiral Margaret Parangosky, who has appeared throughout the Halo franchise and is often a rival to McElhone. Overlord's Bokeem Woodbine will portray Soren-066, who will be in conflict with Master Chief on the show.

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The other three new roles are specifically created for the TV series and are all Spartan soldiers. Natasha Culzac (The Witcher) will star as the "cybernetically enhanced killing machine" Riz-028; Bentley Kalu (Avengers: Age of Ultron) will play Master Chief's deputy Vannak-134; and Kate Kennedy (Catastrophe) has been cast as "deadly Spartan supersoldier" named Kai-125.

The TV show has yet to have a specific release date, but Showtime did reveal it's set to debut sometime in the beginning of 2021. Production will start in the next few months in Budapest, Hungary.

Via: Wccftech

Earlier this year, 343 Industries Transmedia chief Kiki Wolfkill provided a few details about what fans can expect from the show. It'll reportedly be just as complex and vast as Game of Thrones, with the series diving deeper into the political aspects of Halo. Microsoft and 343 Industries both have experience adapting Halo with the release of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. The web series received mixed reviews, but fans of the franchise did appreciate the effort that was put into it.

Though there's currently no way of knowing if this Halo TV show will be a success, fans will surely still be excited to hear about this casting news. Despite being initially announced quite a while ago, this series is beginning to finally take shape. Then there's also the next upcoming Halo title Halo Infinite, which is rumored to be the most expensive game ever made. It's set to launch sometime during the 2020 holiday season.

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