Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

''This article is about the web series. For the UNSC ship, see UNSC Forward Unto Dawn.''

"We wanted to do something unique from a narrative standpoint that's big in scale."

- Matt McCloskey - Director, Franchise Business Development

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is an upcoming live-action miniseries. The series, scheduled for release in October 2012, is comprised of five 15-minute episodes that will be released on a weekly basis. The series' plot will revolve around how John-117 inspired Thomas Lasky, a young cadet to eventually become a leader on the. Along with a new character that will also appear in Halo 4, the series will explore the beginning of the Human-Covenant War. It will be hosted on Halo Waypoint and Machinima.com. A 90-minute extended version will be included with the Halo 4 Limited Edition.

An early episode of the series is currently known as "Sleeper" and is in production.

A teaser trailer for the series was released on Halo Waypoint and on YouTube by Machinima on July 2, 2012.

The official trailer of the series was released on Halo Waypoint and on YouTube by Machinima Prime on July 12, 2012.

Production
Filming is noted to have started as early as April 28th, 2012 at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a popular filming location for many notable science fiction series like Stargate SG-1 and Battlestar Galactica. The episode, known as Sleeper, is set at the university, doubling as a futuristic UNSC officer academy, will introduce the main protagonist of Forward Unto Dawn. Propaganda murals depicting Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and fighter aircraft, statues of historic military commanders (including a depiction of Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo), and other signature futuristic artwork were seen decorated around the campus.

John-117 will play a pivotal role in the series, though he is not the main protagonist. That role is instead filled by Thomas Lasky, who will also be a major character in Halo 4. The Master Chief is portrayed by Canadian actor Daniel Cudmore, best known for his role as the mutant Colossus in the X-Men film series. Lasky is played by Australian actor Tom Green.

Characters

 * April Orenski
 * Black
 * Chyler Silva
 * Dimah Tchakova
 * Dr. Hughes
 * JJ
 * John-117
 * Mehaffey
 * Michael Sullivan
 * Shere
 * Thomas Lasky
 * Vickers

Equipment

 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV

Weapons

 * MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System
 * Unidentified UNSC pistol

Locations

 * Corbulo Academy

Organizations

 * Covenant Empire
 * United Nations Space Command
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command
 * Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
 * UNSC Navy
 * UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command
 * SPARTAN-II Program

Vehicles

 * M12 Force Application Vehicle
 * M12 Force Application Vehicle
 * M12 Force Application Vehicle

Trivia
Many of the murals seen on set are enlarged pieces taken from the concept art of Halo 3: ODST.