Shabana Azmi joins Steven Spielberg's Halo web series, helmed by Robin Hood director Otto Bathurst

Shabana Azmi has joined the cast of Steven Spielberg's highly-anticipated nine-part web series Halo, based on the popular video game franchise of the same name. The series greenlit by Showtime comes from Spielberg's Amblin Television along with Microsoft videogame unit 343 Industries. Otto Bathurt, known for helming films like Robin Hood and BBC series Peaky Blinders, is set to direct.[caption id="attachment_4217293" align="alignnone" width="825"]

Shabana Azmi. Image via Facebook[/caption]"It cant get bigger than this ! Asian actors have been fighting for colour blind casting for years .. finally its become a reality! This is completely new territory for me - I'm both excited and nervous which is a good place to be in," said Azmi in a statement. She will portray Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence.Showtime had previously said that Halo will dramatise a 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant, as well as weaving personal stories with action and adventure. The network had also called Halo its "most ambitious series ever."The iconic role of Master Chief will be played by Pablo Schreiber (American Gods), while Natascha McElhone (Designated Survivor, Californication) will be seen as Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history key to the survival of the human race. Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo, Spider-Man: Homecoming) essays the role of Soren-066, a morally complex privateer at the fringes of civilisation."Halo, which also stars Bentley Kalu, Natasha Culzac and Kate Kennedy, is set to begin production in Budapest, later this year.Halo, a first-person shooter game developed for Microsoft Corp’s Xbox in 2001, has grown into a global phenomenon, selling more than 77 million copies worldwide and grossing more than $5 billion in sales. It has already spurred spinoff novels, graphic novels and toys.Among Azmi's Bollywood projects is Sheer Kurma, a queer drama directed by Faraz Ansari. Divya Dutta, Swara Bhaskar and Sulekha Sikri are the other actors cast in the film.