Halo has been one of the world's biggest video game franchises ever since it debuted, with many iconic elements of the series becoming fundamental parts of gaming culture. This includes the music, with some of the early musical moments from the original trilogy remaining among modern gaming's most recognizable themes. The new Halo series had to contend with the source material's iconic music. Its score needed to feel unique to the show while still feeling in tune with the expectations of fans and the legacy of the franchise. Luckily, the showrunners brought on veteran TV composer Sean Callery, who relished the opportunity to tackle the task.

At the Hollywood premiere for Halo (which is now streaming on Paramount+), CBR got the chance to speak with composer Sean Callery about taking on the epic scope of the sci-fi/action adaptation. He discussed honoring the history of the franchise and the inherently tricky nature of creating a score for an alien species and culture.

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Halo Master Chief

CBR: Halo is such a large-scale project. You've been involved in massive shows before, but I have to imagine this is an entirely different kind of beast. What was it like to tackle Master Chief and the rest of his universe?

Sean Callery: I will say that when I got the show, when I was called saying, "Hey, they'd like to..." my wife and I were visiting some friends in the desert. On the drive out, I was like, "Hey, you know, I got it." It's like, "Great, we'll celebrate!" When I got out to the desert, I was sort of a nervous wreck, and we had to get going right away.

I really wanted to be respectful of the franchise because there's a lot of beautiful content -- music, visuals, and so forth -- that came before this storyline, this individual thread. So I really wanted to handle any thematic use as it pertains to the game with care while also embarking on a new experience with the music and this particular take on it. I'm hoping people will feel we got a good balance going.

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Music has always been a big part of Halo -- that choir theme will still make grown men cry.

It meets the definition of iconic. It's known across generations and across the world. You hear that, and you go, "Oh, that's Halo." So you really have to, again, you have to be very respectful of how that melody is used. I had to learn how it was used in the series. When you're playing games, music has a much different experience for you as you're actively in a game as opposed to watching something that's already locked and on the picture. So I had to... We tried to join the world a little bit more with this. It was a very unique opportunity. I've never had that kind of situation quite happen in any part of my career. I love the project.

One of the things I'm really fascinated about with your score is that you had to approach not just humanity but the Covenant as well. How did you approach an entirely different species and give them their own unique musicality? Was it tricky?

Oh yes. Oh my God, yes. I have to really credit Microsoft and Studio 343 for educating me a bit on the origins of these storylines because they were very rich. They're very rich. Sometimes you'd be in a conversation, and they would say one little word about their perception of what this particular species is doing and what they're all about. Sometimes that one word is what I would latch onto when I try to come up with a melody. So, I was very excited. There are about four or five themes for various parts of this world. Hopefully, I think this soundtrack's going to happen in a couple of months.

Halo is streaming now on Paramount+.

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