The Fallout TV show is coming just over a week earlier than first reported! Fallout releases on April 11, 2024. Additionally, the series will break from Prime Video’s traditional weekly releases and release all eight one-hour episodes at once. But if you’re still debating watching the series, even after the stellar trailer, the cast, Walton Goggins, Ella Purcell , and Aaron Morten, along with director Jonathan Nolan, show runners Graham Wagnread and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and Executive Producer Todd Howard have some insight into what you should watch the Fallout live-action TV series day one.
The Authenticity
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Adapting an iconic franchise is never easy, but authenticity was the primary focus during the conference. From Nolan explaining the importance that Fallout 3 had on him and Wangread explaining that he’s been playing since the very first game, and of course the Todd Howard of it all, the care that has gone into the Fallout TV series is present everywhere. It’s in how the creatives discuss getting even the smallest hair style correct. We see it too in the importance of nailing the look and practical feel of Power Amor.
Nolan said, “It’s such a rare thing and such an unbelievable thing, and I’ve gotten to do it twice in my career, to take something that you love and get a chance to play in that universe, to create, you know, your own version, I guess, of that universe. The first go-round for me was Batman. This time with Fallout, a game that I absolutely love, a series of games that I absolutely loved. About five years ago, Todd and I went and had lunch together, it was a bit of a fanning-out moment for me, and just started talking about the possibilities of how you could take this incredible universe.”
Howard explained the series, “Look, this is a creative endeavor, and having, you know, partners that you trust and can really bring something new to it, make it authentic, the world of Fallout. Present that to the screen in a new way, but in an authentic way, you know, you know it when you see it, and it’s been a great, great collaboration, and everybody on this stage and what they’ve done. You know, for someone like me and the team here at Bethesda, it’s just a real blessing to see what they’ve done with it.”
And just the trailer alone showed off that authenticity. From the aesthetics, a version of Mr. Handy, and the costumes to the jello mold jiggle and the song choice, the world of Fallout is carefully brought to life. Howard explained, “I think the trailer does what the show does really well, which is it weaves those different things together in a very unique blend that only Fallout can bring. And they’ve done just an awesome job.”
That attention comes from the way the team behind the Fallout live action TV series focus on looking over every scene and pixel of the game. Howard describes the process as obsession to get it right. When asked about what he was most excited for in the series, that was his answer. “I mean, the authenticity they brought to it, the obsessive. We like to say we make the games that we obsess over every pixel,” Howard said before continuing, “Jona and crew, they obsessed over every pixel of every frame, just to make it authentic. And the other thing, watching that trailer…the trick with Fallout is it has so many different tones. It goes between the serious, the dramatic, and action, and some humor and nostalgic music and dramatic music.”
Fallout is Building on the World, Not Retelling A Game
The narrative development of the Fallout games are fantastic. That said, it would have been a waste to adapt such a personal RPG directly. Instead, Prime Video is making an original story set in the world of the series. This allows it to have some breathing room in being compared to the games. But it also grounds it in everything that has made the franchise so incredibly special.
Nolan said, “I think one of the things that’s so powerful about the Fallout series is that every game is a little different. Different characters, a different setting, and a different look into this extraordinary universe. We came out of that lunch with a handshake deal that we were gonna try to make this work.” The series itself can be and should be looked at like a new game set in the world. It builds on a foundation, and adds to the legacy of the series.
Director Nolan continues, “It’s set in the world of Fallout, but it’s a new story that comes, sort of, after the events we’ve seen. The show is built on 25 years of creativity, thinking, and building.”
Graham added, “And we sort of thought the best thing to do is to continue that, versus retread it. Because that’s sort of what has worked with Fallout over the years. It’s traded hands, it’s changed, it’s been altered, and it’s a living thing. We kind of felt like we ought to take a swing at trying to build a new piece on top of all of that”
And this allows the series to tackle a unique narrative. Nolan said, “I think you also have a moment that we’re in right now in which the world, you know, seems to be ever more frightening and dour. And so an opportunity for us to work on a show that gets to look that in the eye, right, and we get to talk about the end of the world, but to do it with a sense of humor. You know, I think, honestly, there’s a thread of optimism woven into the show as well, that I think for us, you know, is a bit of expiation to be able to work on this every day.”
To which Robertson-Dworet added, “we were drawn to the social commentary inherent to the Vaults. our countries are celebrated as peaceful utopias, and what would happen if people suffer on the surface, they have and have not and the lengths to keep the status.”
The Characters
Factions are central to telling any Fallout story, and the TV series is no different. Focusing on three main characters, one Vault Dweller, one from the Brotherhood of Steel, and a Ghoul that knew the world before, everything is set to explore the visual and moral complexity that the games are known for.
Ella Purcell spoke about her character Lucy. “Lucy is a Vault Dweller, and what excited me about playing her was that she is so innocent and so naive and obviously very privileged as well, like you’ve touched on. It was exciting for me to start in that place. You know, she’s essentially a newborn baby. She hasn’t had any real life experiences. All she knows is what she was taught and what she’s read in books that she has in the vault. It’s limited. And then you put her on the Wasteland, and, you know, what happens? What happens with that? That’s a really exciting for me to start in. What do you think?
Aaron Morten explained his character along the same lines but with a different experience. He said, “I play Maximus. He’s part of the Brotherhood of Steel. I guess, yeah, what excited me was a little bit of what Ella’s talking about. It’s like, you know, that starting place, and where you go from there, you know. A person who’s lived in the Wasteland for his entire life, and he has to, you know, have a certain type of moral ambiguity that is forced upon him, I think, living in the world that he lives in, and where you go from there. How you hold onto what is your unique, pure self, and how that changes, and how you discover what it is that you want.”
Then there is the Ghoul, played by screen icon Walton Goggins. He broke down the Ghoul as a man between worlds, before and after “The End.” Goggins explained, “I play The Ghoul in Fallout. The Ghoul is, in some ways, the poet Virgil in Dante’s Inferno. He’s the guide, if you will, through this irradiated hellscape that we find ourselves in in this post-apocalyptic world. He is a bounty hunter, an iconic bounty hunter. He is pragmatic, he is ruthless, he has his own set of moral codes, and he has a wicked sense of humor. Much like me. [laugh] No, he’s a very, very, very complicated guy. To understand him, you have to understand the person that he was before the war. He had a name. His name was Cooper Howard, and he was a vastly different person than the ghoul that you’ve seen so far.
Over the course of the show, through his experience back in the world before the nuclear fallout, you will understand how the world was. And he is the bridge between both these worlds. And I hope you enjoy it. So with that said, we hope you enjoy the trailer. Thank you very much for watching.”
Practical Effects Are The Star
In a world of productions that are prioritizing green screen CGI effects over practical, Fallout is adding a focus on practical effects to the TV landscape. Which, when asked about what they were excited for fans to see the most, the Power Armor was the star.
“We talked a lot about the power armor. The tone was a big thing. I think the tone was maybe the most challenging and the most intimidating thing for me. But working with with Geneva and Graham, you knew that we were going to be in a really good place with that incredibly ambitious story.” He continued, “On a technical level, the scope of the world and the power armor in particular was one of those things you go, oh, how on earth are we going to do that? But we got there.”
Robertson-Dworet said, “We couldn’t be more grateful to our incredible production designer, Howard Cummings, who just poured his whole soul into this. Truly, arriving on set every day was like Christmas morning. And, you know, that I think is something that Jonah has brought to all of his projects is just this incredible eye for meticulous detail. Every detail has to be perfect, and so much of it, we made physically. It’s not the effects. So I was really just grateful for that. Thank you, Jonah.”
This enthusiasm for the practical was also one of the best things for the actors. Morten said, “It’s super exciting as an actor. I think to get the opportunity to show up to work to do outrageous things. I think we spend a lot of time doing things that are normal, or there’s a mundaneality to them. You know what I mean? And we spend a lot of time doing that at work. So to get to trudge around the wasteland with the power armor by my side is an experience in itself. And getting to see our stunt performer, Adam, in the full garb, and seeing the seas of people and crew on sets part for him. That practical realness to it is really exciting.”
Purnell agreed with Morten, adding, “It was so much fun working on this show. Every shoot is hard. Not every shoot is fun. And this one was just so fun for an actor. No two days were the same. Every prop, every costume, every location, every set was just bonkers. And one of the joys of working with Jonah is he loves to do everything as much as he can for real.” She continued, “So you’re not working with that much greenscreen or, you know, dudes in green leotards. You get to really work with practicals. And that, you know, you don’t have to imagine so much. It’s real, and you can really do it. And just like, just a kid in a candy store, honestly. So much fun.”
All eight episodes of Fallout TV series stream exclusively on Prime Video April 11, 2024.
