Early Halo 2 script

This article is part of a series on
Halo 2 cut content

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Cut content

Early script
Cut dialogue
Cut enemies and ambient life
Cut equipment
Cut gamemodes
Cut levels
Cut vehicles
Cut weapons

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Development

Halo 2 development
Concept art
Design documentation
Storyboards
Title updates
E3 campaign demo
E3 multiplayer demo

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To check out cut content for other Halo games, see here!

v • d • e

The early cinematic script.

The "Behind the Scenes: The Making of Halo 2" feature included with the Limited Collector's Edition of Halo 2, Joseph Staten flips rapidly through an early Halo 2 script.

All that can be transcribed is here. The undecipherable material has been denoted by question marks, and speculative material is colored red.

Note that "Dervish" was an early word for "Arbiter".

The Script

First Page

The first page.

(x01_1) EXT. SPACE - NEAR RUINS OF ALPHA HALO

A white title fades onto the black screen.

On and on shall old war go,

Without respite my blood will flow

O’er your eyes ‘til they cannot see

The impossibility of victory.

--Excerpt from the Writ of Union

Unknown Covenant Author

The title fades away, leaving a BLACK SCREEN. Beat.

FADE IN on the massive Covenant Holy City, "High

Charity", hanging on orbit above the gas-giant,

"Threshold".

As the camera ZOOMS slowly forward, distant voices emit

from inside the High Charity’s Council-Chamber.

ELITE COMMANDER (V.O.)

There was only one.

PROPHET OF TRUTH (V.O.)

One? Are you sure?

ELITE COMMANDER (V.O.)

Yes.

Beat.

ELITE COMMANDER (V.O.)

The Demon.

FADE IN

C205_20 INT. HIGH CHARITY – COUNCIL CHAMBER – CONT.

From the back, DOLLY PAST a row of seated PROPHET

COUNCILORS and toward the center of the Council Chamber. The

PROPHET COUNCILORS comment amongst themselves.

PROPHET COUNCILORS

(excited murmuring)

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"He-re-tic" Page

The "He-re-tic" page.

GRUNT CACKLES

??? * He-re-tic *

??? too ??? hairy paw ??? the crowd ???.

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"Elevator" Page

The "elevator" page.

??? - COMMAND DECK - CONT.

??? closed elevator door. The elevator comes to ??? audible ??? off-camera. ??? just as the CHIEF's elbow ??? The elevator door opens with a ??? MIRANDA exits the elevator, followed by MASTER CHIEF, JOHNSON ??? frozen in a painful wince.

??? on the Command Deck. Station ??? tasks with quick determination. They have a ??? win.

MIRANDA, MASTER CHIEF, and JOHNSON ??? center of the Command Deck where LORD HOOD ???

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"Holotank" Page

The "holotank" page.

CORTANA

The Covenant data I retrieved was

hardly decisive. How can ONI be so

certain?

?????????????????? away from the holo-tank on MIRANDA. She

??????????????? and JOHNSON can get a better idea. LORD

HOOD ????????

LORD HOOD

Station, bring up this

morning’s tac-record, timestamp

delta-four-eleven.

CLOSE ON the HOLO-TANK. Earth is in the center of the

tank. The COVENANT fleet is packed tightly together a

good distance away from Earth. The human fleet is

portrayed in a loose line between Earth and the Covenant

fleet.

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"Whole Career" Page

The "whole career" page.

LORD HOOD

Are you ready, Commander?

MIRANDA then salutes and squares her shoulders. This is the

moment she has been waiting for her whole career.

MIRANDA

Sir! Yes sir!

LORD HOOD smiles at MIRANDA. She’s just like her father.

He turns toward the MASTER CHIEF.

LORD HOOD

Master Chief, you will lead the

assault on the Covenant vessel.

ZOOM on the MASTER CHIEF and JOHNSON.

LORD HOOD (O. C.)

Sergeant Johnson and the In

Amber Clad’s company of ODSTs

will provide support.

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"Jump-To-It" Page

The "jump-to-it" page

????????????????????????????????????????? and is built to

??????????????????????????????? withstand a high-impact

???????????????????????????????????? line both sides of the

???????????????????????

???????????????????????????????. He stands by his HEV’s hatch

????????????????????????????? to jump-to-it.

JOHNSON

Hurry to your cans, sardines!

The elite soldiers hustle past JOHNSON, grab hold of their

individual HEV re-entry bars, and swing into position.

JOHNSON (O. C.)

I wanna hear those bindings pop!

(x03_11) INT. IN AMBER CLAD – HEV – CONT.

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"HEV" Page

???11) INT. IN AMBER CLAD – HEV – CONT.

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"Shark" Page

The "shark" page.

??? EARTH – CONT.

??? "up" toward the camera. ??? ?-t's aft, rotates 180 degrees and, thrashing like a shark’s in bright water, ???? away from the camera.

??-ound, "beneath" the IN AMBER CLAD. The FLEET has visibly split to deal with the two-man attack.

???_17 INT. IN AMBER CLAD – HEV – CONT.

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"No Wars" Page

The "no wars" page.

???????????????????????????????????????????????? A hairy paw

???????????????????????????????????????? loudly against the

???????????????????????????

BRUTE JAILER

????????? call you out.

?????????????????? COMMANDER. He does not move.

ELITE COMMANDER

But would you call me out

???????????????? COMMANDER. He opens his eyes.

ELITE COMMANDER (CONT’D)

...if there were no wars?

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"Moments of Crisis" Page

The "moments of crisis" page

PROPHET OF TRUTH (O.C.)

????????????????????? the

???????????????????, the

????????????????? all those

???????????????ure, a Dervish.

???????????

??????????? PROPHET OF MERCY

PROPHET OF MERCY

There will always be moments of

crisis when honor matters less

than swift resolution.

???????? the PROPHET OF TRUTH.

PROPHET OF TRUTH

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"Working Grunt" Page

The "working grunt" page.

??? of ??? fighter is ??? for the best. The ???

???? Grunts at the second site. ????? the time they have found, but ????

???? ELITE at the third site. He takes a ??? the wars as the Grunt works.

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"Wounded Elite" Page

The "wounded Elite" page.

WOUNDED ELITE

??? to you… Commander.

???? DERVISH. He smiles, and squeezes the ??? soldier.

???? background, the SPEC-OPS OFFICER is engaged in a ???? discussion with a life-size holographic image of the PROPHET OF TRUTH and the PROPHET OF MERCY.

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"Garland" Page

The "garland" page.

??????????????????????????????? and motions to the group of

BRUTES.

TARTARUS

??????????????r of the Hierarchs.

Come, we are leaving this system.

The DERVISH stares, dumbfounded, as TARTARUS exits the

remains of the control room. The two BRUTE GUARDS lift the

container with them, and heft it away from the

?????????

CLOSE ON the DERVISH. Slowly, he raises his head to

??????? that he has caught the MONITOR’S garland.

WIDE ANGLE. SLOW ZOOM toward the gruesome ???? ??? ???

??????? perimeter fills the right side of the frame.