Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is a live-action webseries that debuted on October 5, 2012 and will have a new episode each Friday until the release of Halo 4 on November 6, 2012.

The webseries was announced by Variety magazine on April 30, 2012 and represents the largest monetary investment Microsoft has ever put behind a live-action Halo project.

Next to no details were revealed by Microsoft but the plot, cast and director details were announced at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Aside from marketing Halo 4, the goal of the webseries is to introduce the franchise to people unfamiliar with the games. 343 Industries franchise business management director, Matt McCloskey, said to Variety: "make Halo accessible for people who haven't played the games. We wanted to do something unique from a narrative standpoint that's big in scale."

An official teaser trailer was released for the series on July 1, 2012.

The official trailer was released on July 13, 2012



The webseries will be available to view on Machinima and on Halo Waypoint later this year.

Plot
"Set against the backdrop of a UNSC military academy, a group of highborn cadets are training to be the next generation of soldiers in the UNSC’s ongoing war with insurrectionists in the outer colonial planets. Among these cadets, Thomas Lasky struggles with his doubts about this war, and with the burden of expectations he may not be able to carry. As Lasky comes to terms with his potential as a military leader, the terrifying alien alliance known as the Covenant arrives and turns his world upside down. Inspired by the Master Chief, he must decide what it means to be a hero."

- Halo Waypoint

Cast

 * Tom Green as Thomas Lasky the protaganist of FUD he is inspired by the work of John-117 and becomes a commander on the UNSC Infinity.
 * Anna Popplewell as Chyler Silva room mate and romantic intrest of Lasky.
 * Iain Belcher as Walter Vickers
 * Osric Chau as JJ Chen
 * Enisha Brewster as April Orenski
 * Kat De Lieva as Dimah Tchakova
 * Masam Holden as Michael 'Sully' Sullivan another cadet that decodes classified footage in his spare time some of which shows spartans and insurrectionists fighting against elites.
 * Daniel Cudmore as Master Chief
 * Michael Dopud as General Black

Trivia

 * Part of the UNSC Marine Cadence is heard in the teaser, with the additional lines "Helljumper, Helljumper, where have you been? Feet first into hell and back again!" added at the beginning of the cadence.
 * Interestingly and unusually, the cadets wear UNSC Army helmets, although it could be that the Reach helmet and these are just the updated CH252 helmets worn by the Marine Corps.
 * The cadets use a MA5 variant that fires 32 rounds per clip. It is unknown if they are MA5Bs using smaller magazines or if they are an entirely different model.
 * Although the aforementioned assault rifle could just be MA5Ds as they display some similar aesthetic similarities, implying that they were used in a lesser amount before 2557.
 * Each episode starts with Cortana on the sometime between 2553 and 2557 (between Halo 3 and 4).