Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

''This is an article about the live-action Halo webseries. Looking for the Charon-class light frigate, FFG-201?''

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

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 is available to view on Machinima and on Halo Waypoint.

The webseries was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 4, 2012 in America and May 27, 2013 in the UK, with all 5 episodes edited together into a film.

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
 * Anna Popplewell as Chyler Silva
 * Iain Belcher as Walter Vickers Fudm.jpg
 * Osric Chau as JJ Chen
 * Enisha Brewster as April Orenski
 * Kat De Lieva as Dimah Tchakova
 * Masam Holden as Michael 'Sully' Sullivan
 * 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 the UNSC Marine helmet from the Post-war era.
 * The cadets use the Halo 4 MA5 variant that fires 32 rounds per magazine.
 * Each episode starts with Cortana on the sometime between 2553 and 2557 (between Halo 3 and 4).
 * Once again, cryo-sleep is shown with the occupants fully clothed so it does not get an adult rating of R or NC-17.
 * During the second episode of the series there is a brief cameo made by Frank O'Connor appearing as a janitor.
 * The DVD/Blu-ray release of the film included the Red vs. Blue "Sleepers" PSA.
 * The armor that the Chief wears is the same model from "The Package" in Halo Legends. (MK.IV)
 * In Episode 5 Spartan 87 and Spartan 104 wear the Air Assault armor and Mark V[B] armor respectively. This is an error since the two armor models were not in production at the time.
 * In Episode 4 when Lasky asked John-117 who he was, he answered "Call me Master Chief", but at the time he was just a Petty Officer Third Class.