Halo fans got a first look at Halo: The Fall of Reach as Microsoft released a trailer for the animated series during the San Diego Comic-Con.
An adaptation of a novel released in 2001 by Eric Nylund of the same name, The Fall of Reach will explore the origins of the Blue Team and the Master Chief. This means the animated series will be unraveling the beginning of the Halo universe, providing more depth to the video game franchise.
"We've been careful to align with the novel where it makes sense. We were presented with a few challenges, but also a lot of opportunities," shared Frank O'Connor, franchise development director for Halo.
He confirmed that there will be differences, as in the usual case with adaptations, but the animated series will strictly adhere to the core story to ensure the narrative sticks to the canon. To fill in gaps or address previous errors, embellishments will also be used here and there, explained O'Connor.
343 Industries executive producer Kiki Wolfkill said The Fall of Reach will follow the same visual style that the Halo franchise is known for because animation will be handled by Sequence as well. However, she added that the goal of the animated series is to bring Halo's origin story to life in a different way that will be appreciated by those who already know the story and those who only know the Master Chief as an armored Spartan.
The Fall of Reach will be included with the Limited Collector's Edition, Limited Edition and Digital Deluxe Edition of Halo 5: Guardians, which is scheduled to come out on Oct. 27. Those passing up on the game, however, can still watch the animated series over at the Halo Channel, but they will have to wait.
When asked about the significance of timing revisiting the franchise's origin story with the release of Halo 5, Wolfkill said bonds and family themes between soldiers (even AI ones) are intriguing. Halo 4 ended with the Master Chief contemplating what kind of a future it will be without Cortana. He is uncertain who he can trust and then he is reunited with Blue Team, who he considers to be a different kind of family. The Fall of Reach will take viewers back to explain what kind of bond exists between the Master Chief and Blue Team and how these bonds were forged.
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