A Hero Falls

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A Hero Falls is a live-action trailer for Halo 5: Guardians that debuted September 27, 2015, on Sunday Night Football. It was followed by The Hunt Begins, another live-action trailer which shows the actual events surrounding the Master Chief's claimed death. Both trailers were created by Method Studios.

Transcript

Open to a worker running inside a building for shelter from the rain and thunder.

• Penelope Boren (on the news): "We have just received confirmation from Meridian."

Several workers and a waitress turn to watch the broadcast on a screen.

• Penelope Boren (on the news): "That on October 27, 2560, Spartan-117, the man most commonly known as the Master Chief..."

Cut to the Penelope Boren standing at a podium looking somber.

• Penelope Boren: "...died..."

Cut back to the diner, a worker and the waitress stare at the screen.

• Penelope Boren: "...in the line of duty."

Cut to the Master Chief rushing through a dust-filled Meridian, followed by a glimpse of a home near a mountainside.

• Penelope Boren (voice-over): "Out of respect to those who may have lost..."

Cut to a man staring at his framed recruitment photo and a framed medal.

• Penelope Boren (voice-over): "...loved ones in the event..."

Cut to the same man, inspecting his robotic arm

• Penelope Boren (voice-over): "...we are holding back the complete account."

Cut to another glimpse of the Master Chief rushing through Meridian.

• Penelope Boren (voice-over): "The Master Chief would never have agreed to special treatment."

Cut to several UNSC recruits hopping over chairs to crowd around a screen that is broadcasting video of the Master Chief

• Penelope Boren (voice-over): "To be elevated above anyone else. But, we must acknowledge the loss..."

Through a window behind a recruit, several technicians who are working on creating Warthogs look on somewhere, presumably at a screen that is out of view.

Cut to someone in a vacuum suit doing repairs on a research station near a Halo ring.

• Penelope Boren (voice-over): "...we have all, our entire species, suffered today."

Cut back to the Penelope Boren standing at the podium, who suddenly looks up.

Cut to a train filled with people. One woman holds onto her child, who holds a Master Chief action figure in his hands.

• Penelope Boren (voice-over): "And we must fight together, as he fought."

Cut to glimpses of the waitress, the child, the retired soldier, and a recruit.

• Penelope Boren (voice-over): "We must end this, not be ended by it."

Cut to the Master Chief, and pan above him to a large crumbling building. The Guardian then lets out a blast that sends all of the buildings crashing down. The Master Chief's shields can be heard beeping, and dust covers the scene. The trailer ends panning out from the Chief who is under the rubble. His helmet's visor goes from a bright orange to a dull brown.

Cut to the Halo 5: Guardians logo.

Trivia

A letter of apology from Cdr. Michael Sullivan to Adm. Serin Osman was posted to the Hunt the Truth Tumblr page, which referred to the apparent gaffe made by Penelope Boren as to the date on which the Chief was declared KIA, citing that she had succumbed to "the emotional weight of the moment" and lost focus, which led her to misspeak the date in question. According to Sullivan, Boren had been chosen to deliver the news based on projections and personality assessments which indicated that her demeanor, delivery and appearance made her better suited for the task than a more senior member of Sullivan's staff. The letter went on to state that she had since been reassigned to a non-public-facing position on the remote BXR-730 mining colony.