Summary
Though the Master Chief isHalo’s biggest star, he’s far from the only beloved character in the Sci-Fi universe. Over the course of just over two decades, theHalofranchise has amassed quite the compelling cast of side characters, ranging fromHalo 3: ODST’s titular gang of shock troopers to classic staples like Sgt. Johnson to some lesser-known heroes likeHalo Wars' Spartan Jerome-092.
When the initial announcement of Paramount+‘sHaloshow dropped, many fans began speculating on who they might pull in from the source material to fill out the show’s cast, butHalodecided to go in a bit of a different direction. WhileHalodoes bring over series staples like Miranda and Jacob Keyes, for the most part, its cast of side characters are all original, or are taken from extremely obscure pieces ofHalolore. That includes Bokeem Woodbine’s Soren, a character who’s set to receive a bit of an upgrade inHaloSeason 2, at least according to Woodbine himself in a recent Game Rant interview.
How Halo Season 2 Makes Soren a More Complex Character, According to Bokeem Woodbine
Technically a character pulled fromthe bookHalo: Evolutions, Soren-066 makes his live-action debut in the second episode ofHaloSeason 1. Though Soren initially appears as a pretty surface-level character, it doesn’t take long before audiences are shown his tragic origin. After being forced to kill his father, Soren is kidnapped by Halsey and forced into the Spartan program where he meets a young John, who would later become the Master Chief. After one of Halsey’s experiments deforms Soren’s arm, he decides to escape the Spartan facility, and John gives him five precious minutes to break free.
For the majority ofHalo’s first season, audiences don’t see him as this young boy escaping captivity, but instead see him as this fearless leader and ruthless mercenary, taking the top spot on the Rubble, a space station home to ruffians, thugs, and anyone else seeking refuge from the UNSC. Over the course of the season, Soren’s personality is fleshed out a little more, and that’s something that actor Bokeem Woodbine has saidHaloSeason 2 is going to double down on:
They really wanted to take some time to peel some of the layers of who Soren is, and I was really taken aback - in a pleasant way - when I’m reading the scripts I was taken aback by how much more intimate it was in terms of Soren’s character and what they wanted to discuss and reveal.
By the end ofHaloSeason 1, Soren has completed his mercenary work for Kwan, helping her take back her home planet of Madrigal and earning a decent sum of money in the process. The last fans see of Soren, he’s headed back to the Rubble, money in hand. It’s currently unclear what role Soren will play inHaloSeason 2, but these comments from Bokeem Woodbine are pretty exciting, suggesting that Soren will have even more screen time and that his character is going to be even more fleshed out.
During the course ofHaloSeason 1, audiences are given little glimpses into Soren’s personal motivations, and his tough exterior is slowly chipped away episode by episode. According to Bokeem Woodbine, that’s something thatHaloSeason 2 is going to explore even further:
He’s a very complex person, and you really get a sense of all the different layers that make him up to be who he is. It was a big surprise for me. I didn’t anticipate that going into season 2. But as I get through more and more scripts, I’m like wow, this is really giving him an opportunity to be fully realized.
One of thebiggest criticisms ofHaloSeason 1was its surface-level side characters, and while Soren was definitely one of the more fleshed-out members of the cast, he still wasn’t given all that much depth. Thankfully, it seems likeHaloSeason 2 is going to be addressing that criticism head-on, at least with the character of Soren.
