I got word from an acting friend of mine that as much as they know about the tv show, it takes place roughly 20 years before the events of the Forward Unto Dawn (FUD) mini-series. THEN, it jumps to much later.
How much later they didn’t say. Though it seems to be after the events of the classic trilogy of games.
So, on just that small tidbit, let’s take a look at what was happening roughly 20 years prior to the Forward Unto Dawn mini-series to see what this may be about.
First and foremost, that time frame puts it before Master Chief was even born. Chief is a year younger than Tom Lasky, future Commander of the UNSC Infinity. So during the FUD series, that puts him (Chief) at 18 years of age. We know this because, Lasky was a freshman at Corbulo military academy at the age of 19 in the year 2529.
As stated the story takes place 20 years before that (at least or approximately). So again, no Chief. So then, what was going on in the year 2509 or shortly before that? We can cross off any adventures of the Spirit of Fire (as a military ship). Why? Because the Spirit of Fire wasn’t recommissioned as a military vessel until 2520. Or at the least that was when it was requisitioned by the UNSC directly after retirement of the Spirit of Fire‘s last civilian Captain.
The war with the Covenant hadn’t started yet either, so we can cross that off too. This leads me to a few exciting possibilities.
Admiral Preston Cole
By 2509 Preston Cole has already been a part of the UNSC for more than 20 years. Cole is the man responsible for the Cole Protocol. The Cole Protocol is a measure that was enacted by then Admiral Cole to prevent Covenant forces from finding the location of human worlds, specifically core human worlds, and most specifically Earth. To do this, ships were to jump into random slipspace paths instead of jumping to a human controlled world. As well, if a UNSC ship was in imminent danger of capture, the crew were to wipe clean the it’s memory banks, then was to self-distruct.
Preston Cole is considered by many Halo fans (of the lore) to be the first hero of the UNSC as we’ve learned through the novels. Though of course more novels may be written in the future that take place before this timeline. However, at present, this is the story we know. Having him as a lead character or a strong supporting character makes absolute sense.
INSURRECTIONISTS!
It totally fits the timeline. The story can be about the progression of the insurrection. It can also include the rise of the UNSC and dismantling of the CMA (Colonial Military Administration). In 2497 the CMA is shown to be in league with rebel forces (early insurrectionists). By 2525, the CMA was effectively reduced to being meaningless.
The Orion Project
Now this doesn’t quite fit the timeline as the program on it’s second go around ended some time in 2506. However, if the 20 years was an approximation, then this might just be possible. If so, then guess who that introduces to the story? That bad ass himself…Sgt Avery Junior Johnson! Johnson is associated with the Orion project. If the story isn’t about the Orions per say, and it does take place a few year later, Johnson could most certainly be a main/supporting/recurring character.
Catherine Halsey
In the year 2507, Halsey had already wrote her second thesis regarding archaic line commands. Around this time she also had a hand in 3rd-gen Smart A.I.s. In the year 2510 Halsey buys a journal on Reach. This journal is of note. If you bought the Legendary edition of Halo Reach, you have a copy of that journal, coffee stains and all… Much was detailed in it, including her idea for the Spartan II program.
I consider the Halsey theory to be the most plausible, though ALL of them could be intertwined as they happen around the same time. Should the Halo TV series be a success (and it damn well better be!!), it would then be safe to assume that we would see the creation of the Spartan II program; Halsey’s early relationship with Jacob Keyes, future Captain of the Pillar of Autumn; the “recruitment” of the children who would go on to be Spartans, including John-117 (Master Chief); and then the early training of Chief from his childhood, teens, then early adulthood years.
The Future story
As for the info from my actor friend about the story also taking place many years later, since we all already know Master Chief’s story through Halo’s 1-4, those years really do not need to be covered again (though of course I’m sure most of us would like to see it made as a tv show or movie). Instead, it is very likely the timeline of the UNSC Infinity after the events of Halo 4. In fact, either during or after the events of Halo Escalation the comic book.
Whew, a LOT can be theorized from just ONE sentence…
What are your thoughts on this?
-Sal
No covenant? Well, I guess that will help keep the fx budget down 🙂 I wonder who they will have writing for the series?
Chief can’t bex a year younger than lasky
He is. Tom Lasky born: August 15, 2510; Master Chief John-117 born: March 7, 2511. While technically not a full year, he IS younger than Lasky.
wow, I read on halopedia too. I can’t believe that, it’s just that he was around 18 in forward unto dawn, but he looked like he was 30. while the person who played as Thomas lasky looks way to young then. Idk, it is just hard to believe
How do you think Master Chief looks 30, when he’s always in his armor and his face is concealed by his helmet? Did you not see the other two spartans who DID show their faces? They were all the same age, give or take just a few months…Know your lore. We know that Master Chief is in his 40s at the time of the Halo games. The year 2552 is the benchmark year for this. Do the math, it fits. Okay, ’nuff said on this for now.
It’s also important to keep in mind that ages don’t really count in the Halo universe. While two people could be born on the same date, they could have bodies at different physical ages. People don’t age in cyro sleep, and UNSC personnel are regularly put in cryo for slipspace travel.
Yes, this is true. If comparing Chief to Lasky for instance, Chief has seen near constant combat for 30+ years. Even for a Spartan, that will put some rugged years on you, if even in looks.
Sal,
Even though we talked briefly about this, I still find it very interesting. I lean toward the TV shot focusing on Halsey with a potential lead in to other stories about Spartans. The largest and most recognizable features of the Halo universe are the Spartans, whether they are the II’s, III’s, or IV’s.
While I think that most Halo fan’s would enjoy addressing other portions of the Halo Universe, the main goal of marketing Halo like Microsoft currently doing is to draw in new fans through other media and make as much money as possible from that.
What I would like to see is other items in Halo lore are acknowledged in some way. This would be things such as a view of the Spirit of Fire while still a civilian ship in the background of a spacedock, seeing an early mission of Spartans fighting the insurrectionist after an attack, interacting briefly with an ODST named Buck, seeing a young Avery Johnson hitting on a younger Halsey in a bar on Reach someplace (could you image her reaction to Johnson’s line of knowing what the ladies like?). These ‘Easter Eggs’ would be a way for long time Halo fans to gain additional enjoyment from the series (as long as these instances were in the proper context and time) while having a story that can appeal to all ranges of viewers.
A very interesting article and I cannot wait to hear more discussion about it!
Sal
Ah, yes indeed. You’ve brought up other points we briefly discussed about this last night. The Easter Eggs. Those are always cool things for fans to notice. If I have a lot of luck on my side…I might just have a hand in that… But I’ll talk about THAT another time.
Admiral Cole might sound cool too a lore heavy Halo fan, but i’m all for Johnson. Beside him being Contact Harvest, he was in the main Halo trilogy. More than half of the fans that have played single player will probably recognize him. That is IF he is in this ‘~’ But i really hope he does ^w^
I’m hoping that all of the theories I put out there would be touched upon. There’s more than enough room for each character’s story to be told. In fact, they all could interact with each other. Cole could have a ship whose home port is Reach. Johnson could be one of the marines attached to that ship, while Halsey is on Reach itself researching and developing the future Spartan II program. Cole’s ship would be deployed to squash Insurrectionist. During such excursions, Johnson would be deployed on the ground. BAM, all nice and tidy.