The Halo Silver Timeline is first featured in the Halo TV Series. The announcement of this brand-new timeline shook the fanbase to it’s core and left many Halo fans with a lot of questions. Like: what is the Halo Silver Timeline, and how is this new timeline tied to the Core Canon of the video games? Read on to learn everything there is to know about the Halo Silver Timeline.
What is the Halo Silver Timeline?
The Halo Silver Timeline is an alternative Halo Timeline, specifically created for the Halo TV Series. The name refers to the Silver Team, a new Spartan fireteam featuring in the television series, while it’s also a nod to the ‘silver screen’.
According to 343 Industries, this alternative timeline was created to make the most of both the video games and the television series, without constraining, distorting or retconning anything.
Frank O’Connor, Franchise Creative Director of Halo, said that “there were some real dangers of mapping a totally different medium – games – to a linear narrative format, TV or movie for that matter. Not just because of the differences in approach and perspective that make sense for each medium, but also because we want to make sure that we’re not forcing either the game or the show to go in completely unnatural directions.”
How is the Silver Timeline tied to the Core Canon?
The fact that the Silver Timeline is separate from the Core Canon doesn’t mean that the creators of the television series threw everything we know and love about Halo overboard. The Silver Timeline heavily relies on the existing Halo lore, history, canon, and characters wherever it makes sense for the linear narrative.
According to O’Connor, the TV show timeline is grounded in the universe, characters and events of what’s been established in the Core Canon. There will be both “subtle and not so subtle” differences, to make sure everything still makes sense for a television show. Some events or character arcs will be true to the core canon, but there will also be surprising twists that Halo fans won’t see coming.
In the end, O’Connor describes the Core Canon and the Silver Timeline as “two parallel, very similar, but ultimately separate timelines whose main events and characters will intersect and align throughout their very different cadences.” In the end, the TV Series and by extend the Silver Timeline are created in the same vein as the Core Canon, so O’Connor assures fans that it is still ‘distinctly Halo’.
Who are on Silver Team?
Silver Team is a Spartan Fireteam consisting of at least three Spartan II’s. Confirmed members of Silver Team includes Riz-028, Kai-125, and Vannak-134. These Spartans have never been mentioned in any video game, book or comic before, so they are truly a blank slate for the Halo TV series to fill in.
Is Master Chief part of Silver Team?
Although yet unconfirmed, it seems Master Chief is part of Silver Team as well. In some footage, an emblem can be seen on Master Chief’s chest, resembling the emblem of Silver Team. That would be a ‘not so subtle difference’ from the games, as Master Chief in the video games and books has always been part of Blue Team.
Halo The Television Series will be available on Paramount Plus early 2022. Want to know more about the Halo TV Series? Check out everything we know so far.
