After creating and shaping one of the most innovative and intriguing sci-fi shows in HBO’s Westworld, it seems that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have their sights set on an even bigger property in the form of Bethesda’s Fallout Universe. The couple may still be continuing to raise the bar with that epic series as it concludes its third season (with the fourth series in development), but Amazon has announced that they will be adapting the popular game franchise in the near future.
Despite how impressively Nolan and Joy have shaped and put together Westworld’s twisting and innovative story, which features a massive budget, scale and superb cast, taking on something like Fallout is arguably going to be an even bigger challenge. When the pair decided to adapt Westworld (based on a Michael Crichton sci-fi film from 1973), few would’ve remembered that film and there was little attachment to its premise. So when they decided to turn everything on its head and make the world even more compelling, there was nothing but praise.
With Fallout however, this is a franchise that has been massively popular with gamers for over two decades. With loads more lore and story to draw upon from its several lengthy games, it will certainly make for a more challenging job. Yes, there is no doubt a lot more can be done with the setting that could blow us all away, but with so much fan sentiment attached to it, they could also alienate fans if they change things up too much.
We don’t know too much about what to expect from this new planned series, although Amazon did provide some details in a new press statement (as reported in Variety) about their vision for the series:
The “Fallout” series, which began in 1997 with the original game, is set in a world where the future envisioned by Americans in the late 1940s explodes upon itself through a nuclear war in 2077. The magic of the ‘Fallout’ world is the harshness of the wasteland set against the previous generation’s utopian ideal of a better world through nuclear energy.” [Nolan and Joy called Fallout] one of the greatest game series of all time” and joke that “each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends.
While Nolan and Joy are heavily involved in the writing and direction of Westworld, the press statement only refers to them as executive producers for now, so it will be interesting to see just how involved creatively they are in this series.
For Amazon this is a massive project. They may already have the most expensive TV series ever with their Lord of the Rings project in development, but in Fallout they have another massive franchise with a rabid fanbase and two of the most creative minds in the business. If the duo can work their magic in the way that they have with Westworld, then Amazon may just have an absolutely massive blockbuster series on their hands.
Last Updated: July 3, 2020
Hammersteyn
July 3, 2020 at 10:09
Is it a Fallout based around 1 – 4 or is it Fallout 76 and you’ll have someone running around with a shaky cam like Blair Witch shooting at things with “16x the detail” because people don’t want NPCs until the game doesn’t sell and they put in NPCs?
Iskape
July 3, 2020 at 11:48
I wouldn’t want it to based on any game, but rather incorporate all the elements of the Fallout universe. There is so much rick lore to pull from. Even Fallout 76 has had some interesting characteristics that would be uber cool in captured in a series.
Hammersteyn
July 3, 2020 at 12:16
Not having played the game because it went full Chernobyl at launch what characteristics is interesting?
Iskape
July 3, 2020 at 12:35
I enjoyed the introduction of the Scorched. The Super Mutants were the top of the totem pole in terms of non-humans. The scorched are giving them a run for their money. In the game, you’ll find numerous settlements overrun by scorched which used to belong to the Super Mutants as you’ll find their bodies lying around everywhere. Being a hive-mind, I assume they attacked them en masse. As individuals, they are not that hard to defeat, but when in a mass together, you find yourself in quite the panic!
Hammersteyn
July 3, 2020 at 12:40
Might give it a whirl one day.
Iskape
July 3, 2020 at 11:48
For me, Fallout has always been about the world, and not the people in the world. If they can mimic that it would be amazing.
Lu
July 3, 2020 at 09:26
YES YES YEEEEEEEEES!
Hammersteyn
July 3, 2020 at 10:14
Hopefully the season starts with the protagonist putting on the Pip Boy and then you see the green LEDs come to life.
MechMachine
July 3, 2020 at 10:19
And then the show ends and you get a notification of your phone, 5 dollars to see more…..
Hammersteyn
July 3, 2020 at 10:24
Hahahahaha!
Lu
July 3, 2020 at 10:19
That would be amazing.With that classic 40’s-ish music playing.
Also. There has to be a DogMeat.
Hammersteyn
July 3, 2020 at 10:24
Or maybe even a prequel mini-series delving into the nuclear war that caused everything.
Lu
July 3, 2020 at 11:14
That would be pretty good. Like leading up to Operation Anchorage.
https://media3.giphy.com/media/VX8kosGEK2IJq/giphy-downsized-medium.gif
Hammersteyn
July 3, 2020 at 11:28
LOL1
Seeker
July 3, 2020 at 11:27
Never played any of the Fallout games. They just looked very tedious to me. But I found the world and story interesting. So this show is something I would definitely watch.