Halo is back for a second season on Paramount+! The adaptation of the legendary video game series debuted last year on the streaming platform, and quickly became the service’s most watched original to date. And with a reception like that, you know they had to up the ante this season, expanding the universe with new characters while evolving fan favorites.

And we were recently given the opportunity to dive into both with series stars, franchise newcomer Joseph Morgan and Emmy nominee Bokeem Woodbine.

Morgan is playing a very popular, almost amoral character from Halo mythology – specifically from the novels and graphic novels of the series – named James Ackerson, Dr. Halsey’s replacement who has a bit of a tense relationship with Master Chief. While Woodbine is back to add more layers to the ever fascinating story of Soren-066, one of Season 1’s scene stealers.

Here’s what they had to say about this coming season of Halo:

Catch the first two episodes of Halo Season 2 only on Paramount +, when they premiere on Thursday, February 8. New episodes drop every Thursday after that. Make sure to check them all out!