Halo TV show season 3 release, cast, and what we know so far

WhenHalo’s second season came to an end last March, it seemed Master Chief’s journey was just beginning since he’d only just set foot on the ringworld the series is named after. But Halo fans aren’t going to get a chance to see what happens next — at least, not on Paramount Plus, who announced on July 18 that they were not moving forward with a season 3. That makes some sense: After a tumultuous season of fighting the USNC, it’s hard to say if more Halo was really going to be worth it or not.

Here’s everything we know about the future of what was once-Paramount Plus’ Halo TV show, and if there’s any hope for it at a new streamer in the future.

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for Halo season 2.]

Is Halo season 3 happening?

No, at least not at its native Paramount Plus. On July 18, Paramount Plus announced the show had been cancelled.

“Paramount+ can confirm that ‘Halo’ will not move forward with a third season on the service,” the streamer said in a statement. “We are extremely proud of this ambitious series and would like to thank our partners at Xbox, 343 Industries and Amblin Television, along with showrunner and executive producer David Wiener, his fellow executive producers, the entire cast led by Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief and the amazing crew for all their outstanding work. We wish everyone the best going forward.”

Per Variety’s report, Xbox, Amblin TV, and 343 Industries are reportedly trying to shop the show around to a new network. Which makes sense, given that the creative team had more in mind for the show. In an interview with Collider, executive producer Kiki Wolfkill said the team wrote the series with the “long-term view in mind,” and that there’s already been planning for the story beyond season 2. Meanwhile, season 2’s new showrunner David Wiener told Collider that he approached season 2 trying to leave quite a few door open for the future as well.

“I hope we get the chance to make more,” Wiener said. “That’s totally the intention.”

Who would return for a revived Halo season 3?

Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief seems like a given, along with Jen Taylor as Cortana. The show also seems pretty resolute in sticking with Makee’s story line, so Charlie Murphy is likely to return as well. As for the rest of the cast, the series seems to be pretty focused on the action happening on Halo — finally — so it’s hard to say who else might join in. And with a few members of the rest of the staff surviving as well, like Bokeem Woodbine’s Soren and Yerin Ha’s Kwan, we’re still likely to have a few non-Chief stories to pay attention to as well.

What would Halo season 3 have been about?

The ending of Halo season 2 suggests season 3 would finally be about Halo, which would be pretty exciting. The show has basically set up a slightly altered version of the first game’s premise, including the Flood, so it’s we could expect something similar to the story in Combat Evolved, where Master Chief explores the ring, learns its true purpose, and then has to escape.

If I want the real weirdo Halo lore, where should I go?

Telling people to read Halo novels is a little bit like telling them to read into the later books of the Dune series, and I’m already on the record for that one, so you can bet I have Halo recommendations too. Greg Bear’s Forerunner saga is a trilogy of books set about 100,000 years before the humans and the Covenant meet, and it’s some of the best and weirdest lore Halo has. We get to learn all about the Forerunners and the Flood, as well as bits and pieces of the history of ancient humanity, a spacefaring civilization that nearly wiped out the Forerunners long before Master Chief was even born.