Give me your eyes and ears, dear readers, because there's a chance that the next great video game adaptation is upon us. After HBO's The Last of Us proved that well-made video games could inspire great television series, Amazon Prime Video announced that they're joining the race with an adaptation of Fallout. I have to say: there's something about the lineup of names attached to Fallout that has me believing it could be truly special.
For one, Westworld showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are executive producers for the new series. Arriving on April 12, Fallout will feature Walton Goggins (Justified), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Michael Emerson (Lost), Sarita Choudhury (And Just Like That...), and Matty Cardarople (Reservation Dogs). Showrunning duties will be split between Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel screenwriter) and Graham Wagner (The Office). That's a heavy-hitting list, people.
In the latest trailer for the series, which is streaming above, it looks as if Prime Video has nailed the set design and feel of Fallout. Much of the game is based on the player's decisions, so it'll be interesting to see which story elements the writers think up. The beloved video game franchise from the makers of Starfield also has a similar vibe to the futuristic western of Westworld. Fallout is teased as the perfect place to go in the event of doomsday, because, "if the worst should happen tomorrow, the world is gonna need you to build a better day after."
The role-playing series is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth known as "The Wasteland," which is the product of nuclear war. There's also a bit of Silo thrown in there as well, since everyone lives in fallout shelters called "Vaults." Walter Goggins stars as one of the show's mutated, Red Skull-esque humans, known as "ghouls." (Sounds freaky—and it looks so, too!) Blink and you'll miss it, but there's also a bit in the new trailer that looks like a mech-fighter brawling with a massive bear. Players in the video game can also trade bottle caps as currency and gain karma points for completing good deeds, which is certainly a Black Mirror-esque hellscape if I've ever heard of one. Sign me up!
