New 'Halo' Season 2 trailer doubles down on more explosive Covenant combat

Halo Season 2
Halo Season 2 (Image credit: Paramount+)

A new trailer gives us a sneak peak at the upcoming second season of Paramount+'s "Halo" series, which hits screens on Feb. 8, 2024.

The first season of "Halo," which aired in 2022, left some fans unsatisfied with the controversial adaptation of Microsoft's mega-buck video game franchise. Part of the chilly reception from hardcore gamers traced to canonical changes made to the source material, and the fact that Master Chief actually went sans helmet. 

The coming sophomore season appears to offer a sizable amount of intense interstellar combat action as the Spartan super-soldiers re-engage with their dreaded foe, the Covenant.

That news was delivered by "Halo" showrunner David Wiener, lead actor Pablo Schreiber, newly christened cast member Joseph Morgan and executive producer Kiki Wolfkill at CCXP São Paulo, Brazil on Dec. 2. They hinted at super-sized clashes involving Master Chief and his armored squad’s desperate quest to save humanity or see it perish.

Related: The best sci-fi movies and TV shows on Paramount Plus in December

Here's the official synopsis:

"Master Chief John-117 leads his team of elite Spartans against the alien threat known as the Covenant. In the wake of a shocking event on a desolate planet, John cannot shake the feeling that his war is about to change and risks everything to prove what no one else will believe — that the Covenant are preparing to attack humanity’s greatest stronghold. With the galaxy on the brink, John embarks on a journey to find the key to humankind’s salvation, or its extinction — the Halo."

"Halo" is produced by Showtime in collaboration with 343 Industries and Amblin Television. Season 2 is executive produced by Wiener along with Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television. 

The Cast of "Halo" in a promotional poster. (Image credit: Paramount+)

According to Paramount+, fresh faces for Season 2 include Joseph Morgan portraying James Ackerson, "a formidable intelligence operative who has spent his career climbing the ranks of the UNSC’s secretive Office of Naval Intelligence," with Cristina Rodlo as Talia Perez, "a corporal specializing in linguistics for a UNSC Marine Corps communications unit and a new recruit who has yet to see real combat." 

Besides Schreiber's John-117, returning actors rounding out the cast for eight more episodes are Jen Taylor, Natascha McElhone, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy, Danny Sapani, Fiona O’Shaughnessy, and Tylan Bailey.

Paramount+'s "Halo" Season 2 arrives beginning on Feb. 8, 2024.

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Jeff Spry
Contributing Writer

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.