The Westworld Creators Are Adapting A Major Video Game For TV

With beloved games like The Last of Us and Resident Evil getting the TV treatment this year, it was only a matter of time until Fallout was adapted to the small screen. Since the first game debuted in 1997, the series has gone on to become one of the most recognisable franchises in gaming. Set in the near future, Fallout takes players on a journey through a nuclear wasteland filled with radioactive monsters set against the “utopian idea” of a pre-nuclear war-torn America.

Initially announced in July 2020, the project will be developed by Westworld’s Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy so it’s clearly in very good hands. The series will be produced in collaboration with Amazon Studios and Kilter Films, as well as the games’ producers Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. So here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Fallout TV series, and when you can expect to see it come to life.

Fallout Plot

The Fallout series is set during an alternate timeline to ours, where the United States seizes the nuclear power that ended World War II. Using the technology developed for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, America embraces this new form of energy to the point that it ends up in every household across the country. Because of this, things essential to technology today like the transistor weren't invented, and inevitably the fictional America of Fallout is stuck in the Atomic Age.

Fast-forward to 2052, and the world’s oil has been used up resulting in a war of resources across the world. During this time, the United Nations collapses and tensions begin to rise between America and China for almost two decades before a nuclear war erupts on Oct. 23, 2077. Subsequently, the world is plunged into a radiated apocalypse of gargantuan proportions.

Humanity barely survives the nuclear war but in America less than 0.1% of the population are kept safe in survival shelters known as vaults. However, the majority of these vaults were falsely advertised as a means of protection from the nuclear fallout, and were instead used for social experimentation by Vault-Tech, a pre-war corporation contracted by the U.S. government.

Those that manage to survive these experiments and escape the vaults are faced with a nuclear wasteland filled with humans and animals severely affected by radiation poisoning. Having adapted to the environment around them for centuries, humans left on the outside have turned into Ghouls and Super Mutants, while animals become mutated beyond recognition to form new species like Deathclaws and Radscorpions.

Fallout Cast

It’s still too early to say but seeing as the creators of Westworld are behind this adaptation of Fallout, a stellar cast list is definitely in the pipeline.

How Will Fallout Be Adapted To A Series Format?

In each game, you explore this wasteland as a “vault dweller” who manages to survive and has to come to terms with the remnants of society and, of course, the monsters. But as each game is based on a different area in the States with different characters and narratives, there’s a lot to choose from in terms of adaptation. The story of Fallout 4 could work well in terms of a series format, as it’s one of the most fleshed out and expansive games in the series so far. However, Amazon’s take on Fallout could be set in a new area entirely, with new characters to boot.

Whatever the case, writer-director Lisa Joy has teased that it’s going to be a “gonzo, crazy, funny, adventure, and mindf**k like none you’ve ever seen before,” as she recently told Collider. In a joint statement, Joy and Nolan described how they’re both avid fans of the games as well. “Fallout is one of the greatest game series of all time. Each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends,” they said in a statement. “So we’re incredibly excited [...] to bring this massive, subversive, and darkly funny universe to life.”

Amazon’s Fallout Release Date

With production set to begin sometime in 2022, fans can expect to see the series in the next year or two potentially.