American Gods’ Pablo Schreiber to Star in Showtime’s Halo Series as Master Chief

Showtime’s long-gestating Halo series has finally found its Master Chief. But will we ever actually get to see his face?

The network announced Wednesday that Pablo Schreiber has been cast in the lead role of enhanced super-soldier Master Chief, based on the same character from the Halo video game. According to Showtime, “Master Chief [is] Earth’s most advanced warrior in the 26th century and the only hope of salvation for a civilization pushed to the brink of destruction by the Covenant, an unstoppable alliance of alien worlds committed to the destruction of humanity.”

Master Chief has been a staple in Halo since the very beginning, making his first appearance in 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved. His backstory, and how he came to be the enhanced solder we know, has never been fully explained. More than likely, the series is about to change that. The show is also likely about to change the fact that we never see Master Chief’s face, considering Schreiber’s casting. The actor, who stars on American Gods as leprechaun Mad Sweeney, is also known to TV fans as Orange is the New Black‘s George “Pornstache” Mendez. Why cast someone who is highly recognizable for his face if we’re never going to see it?

Pablo Schreiber, American GodsPhoto: Jan Thijs, 2017/ Starz Entertainment, LLC

The Showtime series has also cast newcomer Yerin Ha as an all-new female character named Quan Ah, described as “a shrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both.”

Halo has been in the works for the last six years, with a list of shuffling showrunners, writers, and directors (at one point Steven Spielberg was serving was executive producer; he’s no longer personally attached, but the series is being run through his production company, Amblin Television). The current iteration of the series comes from showrunners Kyle Killen (Awake) and Steven Kane (The Last Ship).

Halo is set to begin production this fall in Budapest, Hungary.

Pablo Schreiber, Orange Is the New BlackPhoto: Ali Goldstein/Netflix