 Halo 4 : Forward Unto Dawn is a live @-@ action film and miniseries set in the Halo universe . Although shot as a feature @-@ length film , Forward Unto Dawn was originally released as a webseries consisting of five roughly 15 @-@ minute episodes , the first of which was released on October 5 , 2012 , with the last episode released on November 2 , 2012 . The series ' plot , occurring in the early days of the Human @-@ Covenant War circa 2526 , revolves around Thomas Lasky , a young cadet at Corbulo Academy of Military Science , and how John @-@ 117 inspired him to eventually become a leader . Lasky is also a prominent character in Halo 4 as a commander on the UNSC Infinity . The name of the series , aside from being a reference to the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn , is given new significance in the series as part a running motif based on a poem . The film cut was released on Blu @-@ ray and DVD on December 4 , 2012 . 
