Will we see Thomas Lasky, Roland, Sarah Palmer and Catherine Halsey coming back in Halo Infinite? Maybe in a supporting role?
Captain Lasky? Most likely, as long as the Infinity is around, he likely will be too. Given that Roland is one of few (I say few, it’s probably a much larger number than say 3 or 4) AI that did not take up Cortana’s offer of immortality and prosperity for all? The Infinity is likely one of the last ship of a handful at most that we might see.
Roland should also be around for a bit, he is a relatively new AI, so I can’t see them replacing him so soon. And again, as long as the Infinity is around, so too shall Roland be present (unless something happens to him).
Commander Palmer I don’t see them getting rid of right now, so it’s a big maybe. She might not be seen much in the game though.
Halsey I’m unsure of. She isn’t completely critical to the mission, but she is important (given the fact she’s one of the most brilliant minds in history still alive) to upgrading things and working around Cortana. She made her, so she knows most of what Cortana should know on a basic level.
Of all of them? I’d say they probably all will play some role in Infinite.
Lasky and Roland will likely be in the game since they are tied to the Infinity, which will almost certainly be in the game at some point. Halsey is highly doubtful since she’s more of a behind the scenes character. I don’t think Palmer will be in the game. I don’t have much of an explanation for that, but I just have a feeling 343 is gonna shy away from having her in the game for the sake of keeping things simple.
As other responders have said, If Infinity is there, Lasky and Roland will be with it. Most likely Palmer as well. I do think it’s possible that the Infinity has limited bearing in the Infinite campaign, though. It’s possible that it’s needed elswhere for some reason or gasp is destroyed with all hands early on in the game to drum up stakes and attempt to put the contraversial elements Infinity represents in this series to sleep.
If either of those things happen, some or all of the mentioned characters will have a limited role to play in the story. It is alternatively possible that Infinity serves as Chief’s safe respite throughout the game and isn’t destroyed at all, or is destroyed very near to the end of the campaign.
I don’t see a world where there’s no appearance of any of these three at all whatsoever, though. Unlike Osiris and the other members of Blue Team, it’s a lot trickier to say that the flagship–and one of the only ships-- of the UNSC is just off on other business for the entire duration of the game.
I have a hard time with the idea that we won’t be seeing any of them but its certainly possible with what we saw from Infinite’s opening cutscene apparently.
I think its more likely that we may see some of those characters wrapped up though. Palmer for example I could easily see going down, sacrificing her life in a blaze of glory somewhat like a combination of Forge/Noble6. After all she, in my mind at least, was the replacement for Sgt. Johnson and he died in the 3rd Halo game he starred in too. It would be unfortunate though if she had generally agreed upon good writing in this game and was killed off simultaneously. I’d be okay with it though.
Out of all those characters I definitely hope to see Lasky and Roland again.