I know we’ve started to see a bit more information lately on Amazon’s big-budget Fallout TV series, adapted from the famed Bethesda games, but I did not figure it was this close.
Now, Amazon has revealed the Prime Video series will drop on April 12, 2024, about six months from now. The show was seemingly not one of the dozens and dozens affected by the Writers and Actors strikes, able to be written and filmed before all that went down. It has not released a public trailer, only showing one behind closed doors. There are no official cast photos, only behind the scenes spy shots. It feels like its ages away but apparently, it isn’t.
Amazon has a number of big budget IPs under their belt for development, but honestly, Fallout has been flying pretty low under the radar despite what a major undertaking it should be. The show stars Walton Goggins (Justified), Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets) and Kyle MacLaghlan (Twin Peaks) and it remains unclear just what part of the timeline is being adapted. It takes place in post-apocalyptic LA, a place where Fallout games have not been set, so we are not reliving the events of any one game. However, many fans believe Walton Goggins’ Ghoul character could in fact be John Hancock from Fallout 4, though it’s not clear why he would be in LA, so it may just be an original Ghoul.
The Fallout show was developed by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, responsible for Westworld, which Max has recently banished to the Shadow Realm, cancelling it one season early and removing it from the platform entirely to save money. Joy and Nolan also produced The Peripheral for Amazon, a dystopian series that didn’t make a huge splash, but was renewed for season 2 before…being cancelled despite that, potentially a victim of the timing of the strikes.
I am extremely curious as to how this goes. Big Amazon Prime series are both hits and misses. Live action video game adaptions are both hits and misses. I love Walton Goggins so that’s a huge plus if he’s leading the series. I don’t know anything about the writers and directors. It all seems like a big question mark at this point, which is why I was so surprised that it was coming out this soon, not only not delayed by the strikes, but flying low under the radar.
As for Fallout as a series, it feels like it’s effectively on ice because of Bethesda’s current priorities and how long it takes to make its game. Fallout 76 was the last major Fallout title, one that took years to fix and mold into something solid after years of single player success before that. Now, after years building Starfield, Bethesda is now beginning “early development” on Elder Scrolls VI, which is probably 4-5 years away. And if they do Fallout 5 next instead of say, Starfield 2, we’re looking at what, close to a decade until the next Fallout game? And 15 years since Fallout 76? Yikes. Maybe Microsoft will let another studio take a crack at the IP.
Anyway, I am extremely curious as to how this goes. I really hope it pans out.
Follow me on Twitter, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Read the full article here
