Showtime’s Halo TV show has recast the role of Cortana. The role now goes to Jen Taylor, who has portrayed the character in every mainline entry in the video game franchise so far. IGN shared the news today, saying that Master Chief’s AI companion will no longer be played by Natascha McElhone (Designated Survivor, Californication) due to scheduling conflicts brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, McElhone will remain in the series as Cortana’s creator, Dr. Catherine Halsey. Originally, McElhone was to play both roles.
Cortana’s role in the show has yet to be specified, and whether or not Taylor will lend her talents solely as a voice actor remains a mystery as well. Still, longtime fans can rest easy knowing they’ll hear her familiar voice once more.
The Showtime Halo TV series had more of its cast announced in August of last year, where we learned about more of the actors joining Taylor’s Cortana and Pablo Schreiber’s (Orange Is the New Black) Master Chief, including Shabana Azmi (Kaali Khuhi) as Admiral Margaret Parangosky and Bokeem Woodbine (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Soren-066. A few months later, the Halo show added three more members to the cast with David Sapani (Penny Dreadful) playing Captain Jacob Keyes, Olive Gray (Half Moon Investigations) playing Dr. Miranda Keyes, and Charlie Murphy (Peaky Blinders) taking on the role of Makee.
Showtime is working with developer 343 Industries and Amblin Entertainment on the project. As promising as a Cortana and Master Chief TV series sounds, Showtime has yet to give any indication as to when we can expect it to air.
The newest upcoming entry in the game franchise, Halo Infinite, has been delayed into next year and recently lost another key member of its development.
