Paramount+, the new streaming service from ViacomCBS, released the first proper trailer of its hotly anticipated Halo TV series.
The show which will arrive later this year has been one of the most hyped pieces of content in recent memory, thanks to the franchise’s 20-year long association with Xbox and video games.
For years, players have experienced the world while playing as the protagonist in Master Chief. However, for the first time, the series will move into live-action and the trailer revealed some of the things that fans can expect to see in the show.
The trailer showcased tons of iconic weapons like the Battle Rifles and Assault Rifles. Moreover, we see more of Master Chief, who’s played by Pablo Schreiber in his iconic armor as well.
While most of the action and set pieces looked solid, fans of the series had one major gripe in the look of Chief’s AI partner, Cortana.
In the world of video games, Cortana is probably the most famous AI character of all time, and fans have seen her evolve in multiple titles of the Xbox franchise.
When the project was announced, fans desperately wanted the TV show to bring justice to her character with her looks and voice. Hence why, they were quite chuffed when it was revealed that Jen Taylor, who voiced Cortana for the past 20 years in the video games, was reprising her role for the show as well.
However, the reception for the character instantly turned negative following the trailer’s release when fans received their first glimpse at the character’s design.
Y’all did not have to do Cortana dirty like this ????#HaloTheSeries pic.twitter.com/vbR7SEYvZl
— EmmaSkies Infinite (@EmmaSkies) January 30, 2022
Okay but how did they butcher Cortana lol pic.twitter.com/fKMKzY6awv
— Michael ???????????? (@LegacyKillaHD) January 30, 2022
“Mom can we get Cortana?”
“You have Cortana at home.”
Cortana at home: pic.twitter.com/LZTWGGc6sw
— The Call is Coming from Inside the Nash (@Nash076) January 31, 2022
cortana my love… what did they do to you ???? #halo pic.twitter.com/9CUjxPFMPm
— ares ☽ (@thrawnakro) January 30, 2022
As the character is an AI, fans wouldn’t have minded to see a full CG design. However, the design of Cortana contains a slight tinge of live-action, which caught many fans by surprise.
my feelings about cortana in the halo tv show pic.twitter.com/7vjGwwfT0h
— ellis (@sum1saiditinnit) January 31, 2022
what have they done to cortana , this is some uncanny valley nightmare fuel oh god pic.twitter.com/bXbnq4aeff
— Chris (@ChrisLikesDinos) January 31, 2022
There are infinite interpretations for cortana and they chose the worst design possible lol pic.twitter.com/eTMhn2Fbdn
— Jason Quaresma (@QuaresmaJason) January 31, 2022
Additionally, they were also quite dejected to find out that the show didn’t fully commit to the character’s design as Jen Taylor didn’t have the blue skin tone that fans have seen Cortana possess for years.
Seeing Cortana in the Halo TV show like pic.twitter.com/2zdTomdOmi
— Cheep, local fool | BLM (@Cheepdude) January 30, 2022
People out here comparing how Cortana looks to how Sonic first looked in the movie.
Sonic needed facial reconstruction, different eyes, different body hair and body colour.
Cortana just a different colour.????♂️ pic.twitter.com/hgz9ugrBje
— ????KG???? (@XxiKGixX) January 31, 2022
Bet you any amount of money Cortana gets blue-er and further edited in post-production before that show airs now
They don’t want this to be a meme
— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) January 31, 2022
While Cortana’s design might be a minor issue for many fans, right now it looks like the community is quite disappointed that the showrunners fumbled a bit with a character that will play a major part in the series. However, it remains to be seen if the design will grow on fans once the show arrives.
