Halo TV series includes live-action Warthog, but what is really underneath?

The new Paramount+ Halo TV series features the infamous Warthog all-terrain vehicle, and we have reason to believe it started life as a venerable Nissan Patrol.

For gamers around the world, the production of a Halo TV series means a trip to the world of Master Chief, Cortana, and The Covenant can now be enjoyed from the comfort of a couch.

But for us, it means a prime time, live-action adventure for one of science fiction’s most influential vehicles, the mighty Warthog.

Halo was originally released in 2001 as a first-person sci-fi shooting game for the Microsoft Xbox. The game and its subsequent sequels and franchised offshoots have been hugely successful (think 81 million copies and some $6.5 billion in revenue successful), and while the characters and storylines have evolved, at least one thing has remained pretty constant throughout; the Warthog.

Presented in the original game as an M12 Force Application Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, the Warthog is an open-top, four-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steer, all-terrain ‘jeep’ that players could drive and use within the game.

Able to carry up to three marines, the game allowed cooperative players to jump on at the same time, and let whoever was playing the driver or gunners do their thing.

Launching soon on the Paramount+ streaming service is a big-budget, live-action, Halo TV series.

From the look of the trailer (we haven’t watched the show yet), there’s plenty of science, fiction, and explosions… but there’s also a Warthog. While the one depicted in the teaser seems to be computer-generated, a leaked photo from the production in Hungary shows an ATV that is very three-dimensional, and we have reason to believe it started life as a fourth-generation Nissan Patrol.

Live action Warthog and marines spotted in Hungry pic.twitter.com/t2sgFNjhrV

— Mike (@Mikethehuman_) February 27, 2021

The Y61 (GU) Nissan Patrol commenced production in 1997 and, although ending for most markets in 2016, is still built new in Morocco for some African markets.

In Australia, it was offered as a four-door wagon as well as a cab-chassis ute, and used a range of petrol and diesel engines.

So why do we think a chunky Nissan underpins an all-terrain sci-fi vehicle from 500-years in the future?

In 2005, New Zealand producer Peter Jackson started, but then shelved plans for a Halo feature film. Despite the production being canceled, Jackson’s New Zealand-based Weta Workshop built a working, driving Warthog based on a GU Nissan Patrol chassis with a six-cylinder diesel engine.

But this wasn’t the only ‘real’ M12 FAV built.

It even came to Australia as part of a promotional tour.

Around 2012, as part of the marketing campaign for the Halo 4 game, Microsoft commissioned another Warthog to be built, but this time using a Hummer H1 as a base.

Further, a game fan has created his own Warthog based on a Chevrolet Silverado pickup, another on a Land Rover Defender chassis.

If that’s not enough, last year, Ken Block’s Hoonigan business built a custom tube-frame chassis Warthog, powered by a Dodge Hellcat V8 engine. Given that within the game universe the Warthog features a 12-litre hydrogen engine, this is probably as close as we’ll ever get.

While all of these are cool, we think Weta’s Patrol-hog is the one rolled out for the new production.

First up, the fan-built vehicles are a little less ‘professional’ in their implementation than the professionally-constructed ones.

The photo from the set of the TV series in Hungary shows a vehicle that looks different from the Hoonigan one (wheels and brush guards), and the Hummer-based one is on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Which, unless another Warthog, or ‘hogs, have been constructed for the new production, it would make sense to use the already-developed, game-faithful Weta GU Patrol version.

So, Halo fans and Patrol fans, what do you think?

Is Master Chief rolling in a ‘LandCruiser Recovery Vehicle’ or do you think it’s something else? Let us know in the comments below.

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