Showtime hires original Halo actress as Cortana in live-action version

Jen Taylor has played Cortana in the Halo series for almost 20 years. You’d figure Showtime would have gone to her first, but better late than never…

Showtime is making a TV adaptation of Halo, Microsoft’s long-running, incredibly popular video game series. Although best known for its multiplayer shooting action, the Halo games also have a long-running story, following the adventures of the ever-helmeted Master Chief, whom Pablo Schreiber will play on the show. Then there’s Cortana, his AI assistant/kind of love interest, voiced by Jen Taylor in every Halo game since the first way back in 2001.

On the show, the role of Cortana was going to be played by Designated Survivor star Natascha McElhone, but since then she’s departing the series due to scheduling conflicts caused by the coronavirus. According to IGN, Showtime has just hired Taylor to do the job, which makes so much sense you wonder why it didn’t happen straightaway. Who better to portray Cortana than the person who’s played her for nearly two decades?

That said, McElhone will still play Dr. Catherine Halsey, the scientist who created Cortana (whom Taylor also voices in the video games, which could be a strange disconnect). It’s unclear if Taylor will actually appear as Cortana in her blue robot form, or if she’ll just voice a CGI character.

Taylor has a lot of voice acting experience outside of Halo, including voicing Zoey in the Left 4 Dead games, Princess Peach in a handful of Super Mario titles, and reprising her role as Cortana in a couple of Halo animated and live-action mini-series, and for the Microsoft voice assistant named after the character.

It’s uncertain how closely the show will stick to the games, but the synopsis has the broad strokes right: “Aliens threaten human existence in an epic 26th-century showdown.” Regardless, it’ll be exciting to have Taylor side by side with this version of Chief as he kicks Covenant butt.

Production on the series began late last year, with the show headed for an early 2021 release. However, the pandemic might’ve screwed up this plan. As of now, there’s been new news of an official release date, and recasting a role isn’t likely to speed things up.

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