I’m not the first person to do an analysis of the teaser, but from what I’ve seen none of the analyses that I’ve seen have really looked at everything as in-depth as they could. So I’ve compiled everything the community has been able to find in the teaser, and added a few theories that I’ve seen.
The first bit is simply a hooded figure (Chief) walking through a desert. This is likely just to make you wonder what game it is, as a set up for the big reveal of Chief’s helmet. Nothing much of interest happens until we get to this scene. The most important thing we can gleam from this screenshot is the setting of the teaser, here’s a comparison of that scene and some pictures of the Ark from Halo 3. So, the teaser is most likely set on the Ark, based on what we’ve seen so far; after a little looking around, I’ve narrowed it down to somewhere on the other side of the Cartographer that we see in Halo 3.
Next, let’s talk about the large Forerunner machine that rises out of the ground. One of the more interesting parts about this scene is how the rocks start floating once Chief reaches a certain point, then soon after stop doing so. Nearly immediately afterwards the large machine starts rising out of the ground, it definitely has legs and a short tell, not to mention the large “wings”. I got the impression that the floating rocks were signifying that Chief should stop. This could be reinforced by how Chief seems to be expecting what happens next, to a degree. Personally, I think Chief came to this place expecting to find this machine, possibly looking for it specifically, which brings me to my next point.
One of the popular theories is that the giant machine is, in fact, Mendicant Bias. In Silentium, it is said that Bornstellar buries Mendicant Bias under the sands of the Ark. Considering this is likely the Ark, a giant Forerunner machine is rising out of the sand, and also that Silentium definitely sets things up for future Halos. This would go well with the theory that Chief came here looking for this or was expecting it. It’s definitely possible that Chief learns of Mendicant Bias’ role with his arrival at Requiem, and he wants answers as to why, especially because Cortana died because of him. Chief might even just want answers regarding the Forerunners in general.
Now, let’s talk about Chief. Regarding his cloak, Frankie has confirmed that he is trying to hide his identity. Obviously he isn’t hiding from any sensors, nor this Forerunner machine, so there are likely other beings on the Ark. Whoever they are, they probably aren’t anything bent on killing all Humans, otherwise his cloak would do nothing. He’s probably trying to hide from other Humans, which supports the theory that he has gone rogue (some goes for his cracked visor). That’s just speculation though, he might not even need his cloak on the Ark, but just on other planets. The crack in his helmet definitely suggests that he has seen some action between now and Halo 4, and the fact that he still has the same armor might suggest he’s holding on to it because it was unique to Cortana.
Another theory, one I particularly like, is that Chief was sent to the Ark to investigate the disappearances we’re told about in the Eleventh Hour reports, just to find himself stranded as well. Being away from the UNSC, his cracked visor and such can’t be repaired. Being stranded, he decides to do a little snooping around. Since he’s most likely situated somewhere near the Cartographer, he likely finds the terminals. After doing some more digging, he finds that this “Mendicant Bias”, the one that sends him to Requiem, is actually buried on the Ark, and he isn’t that far away either. In search of answers to his many questions brought up by the terminals, he goes looking for him. He’s probably doing this for Cortana as well, since Mendicant Bias is technically to blame for her death.
There’s also the final scene, where we see multiple shadows travelling along the ground. Many wrote these off as the shadows of the clouds above, but the shadows travel faster than the clouds, and don’t match up very well. I count 3 shadows, so it seems that there are 3 objects of a relatively good size travelling above this scene. What they are, who knows? All I know is, in hindsight 343i hinted at much more than we suspected at E3 2011, so we shouldn’t overlook the little details.
Also, to further support the Ark theory, if you look at the picture with the shadows the clouds just happen to be placed so that, if one of the Ark’s pedals were there, they would cover it up perfectly. If the black spot is the darkness of space, as it seems to be (beyond the Milky Way much of space will be black), then this could very well be further evidence for this being the Ark.
