XBox Studios has revealed a first look photo from their upcoming digital TV series Halo: Nightfall, featuring Mike Colter as Locke. The character is an agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), who is tasked with investigating terrorist activities on a distant colony with his team, where they are all drawn to an ancient and deadly artifact. Take a look at the new photo from this upcoming series, then read on for more information.
Locke will also be featured in Microsoft and XBox's upcoming video game Halo 5: Guardians, which will be released sometime in 2015. Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Falling Skies) is directing the live-action series from a script by Paul Scheuring (Prison Break), with Ridley Scott producing through his Scott Free Productions company.
Although Mike Colter isn't familiar with the Halo video game universe, Paul Scheuring's script drew him into the project.
"(The) script was incredibly gripping. It introduces an intriguing and mysterious world that I wanted to know more about."
However, the actor did have some reservations about signing on.
"It was a new medium for me. Who would the audience be? How would they access the series? Fortunately, ensuring accessibility to a broad audience is one of the things that Scott Free TV and 343 values first and foremost. Not only does Halo: Nightfall cater to the hardcore Halo fans, but it's also designed so newcomers to the franchise, like me, can easily enter the Halo universe, identify with the characters and be entertained by the story being told on screen."
The series is slated to launch this fall, with XBox planning on launching in through a number of different platforms, including its own streaming service XBox Live, and Microsoft's mobile devices such as various smartphones and the Surface tablet. The series will be included with Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which updates all of the graphics from the previous Halo games, arriving November 11.
Mike Colter also added that he was pitched the project as a movie that would later be edited down into episodes.
When I first heard of the project it was presented as a film that would then later be edited into chapters. So in almost every way it is a film. The only difference is that it will be released in segments."
The actor also revealed his favorite experience on the set, detailing a scene he shot in Belfast.
"My favorite experience thus far would be shooting a scene in Belfast where I'm chasing an enemy who poses a serious threat to the people Agent Locke has sworn to protect through the city. The scene is an action-packed sequence that involves some cool special effects and a lot of coordination with the stunt team to fulfill the director's vision. I can't wait to see how it turns out."
The scope of the series is said to be similar to Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, the 2012 series that lead into the Halo 4 video game. We also reported in May that Steven Spielberg is producing a separate Halo TV series that will debut on Showtime in 2015, ahead of the Halo 5: Guardians release.