Why Halo Fans Dislike Cortana’s Live-Action Show Non-Blue Redesign

The official trailer for the upcoming Halo TV series offers a closer look at Cortana’s redesign, and fans aren’t happy about it. The Halo TV show trailer has revealed Cortana’s new look, and it’s already proving unpopular with fans. For the most part, the trailer hints that the show will adapt the video game franchise as faithfully as possible, with big-budget special effects and visuals directly inspired by the games.

However, the Paramount+ series’ biggest visual departure from its video game inspiration is the artificial intelligence Cortana, who looks decidedly different in live-action. In the games, Cortana is a blue humanoid hologram, and while the trailer certainly shows her as holographic, she looks far more realistic (and far less blue) in the show’s trailer. The Halo TV show’s Master Chief changes already risked backlash from fans, but Cortana’s apparent new look has sparked a debate about why the show has changed the character’s design.

While the difference between the video games’ Cortana and the TV show’s version essentially boils down to her color, the change has already proven unpopular with fans. Taking creative liberties with the design of such iconic characters rarely pans out well, but the early fan reception of Cortana’s new redesign is particularly underwhelming. Interestingly, the main reason why Cortana’s new look is so disliked actually lies with the show’s other visuals.

For the most part, almost every aspect of the Halo trailers has so far been well-received by fans of the long-standing game franchise. Even from the earliest reports of development, the Halo TV show was controversial with fans, but previews have gradually won them over with its faithful design choices and promising visuals, such as the design of the Covenant ships and sword-wielding Elite warriors. While the recent trailer still looks excellent, Cortana’s redesign is perhaps the biggest departure the show seems to make from the games in a visual sense, and this is a sticking point for many fans.

By making Cortana look distinctly more human, the show risks changing part of the dynamic between her and the Master Chief. If the show’s story intends to follow that of the games, this could potentially prove problematic for Cortana’s narrative arc further down the line, as her robotic “otherness” may need to come into play as events unfold. Still, as the show has hinted it may break one of Halo‘s biggest Master Chief traditions, Cortana’s redesign might mean that it has a few more surprises in store—something not generally welcomed by more traditional fans.

Still, as the show is set to take place on the “Silver Timeline” – a canon entirely separate from the games – Cortana’s new look could be intended to highlight the differences between the show and the games. However, the show’s Cortana looks so different from that of the games that there’s bound to be discourse among fans about whether the change was necessary. Whether or not there’s a narrative purpose for Cortana’s redesign in the Halo TV show remains to be seen, but the fans have already spoken, and for the most part, they don’t appreciate her new look.

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