Summary
The upcoming television adaptationFallouthas an ace up its sleeve. While the first season will comprise eight hour-long episodes (a small amount of time compared toFalloutgameplay), the show won’t be a direct retelling of events of the series. This opens up exciting possibilities for the show andFalloutcanon at large.
Developed byWestworldauteur Jonathan Nolan, the Fallout television series is generating buzz far ahead of its upcoming release on April 11. Nolan’s adaptation ofBethesda’s decades-running seriesforges its own path, using existing lore to create its own storyline rather than tirelessly incorporate decades of story.
The Sprawling Lore of Fallout
TheFalloutfranchise takes place in a retro-futurist timelinespanning across centuries. The foreword to theFalloutstory begins in a post-World War 2 United States, where world governments harnessed the power of nuclear fission to develop advanced technologies. Culture, meanwhile, remained largely entrenched in the aesthetics of the 1950s. As resources became increasingly scarce over the next century, China challenged the United States in a series of conflicts that culminated in an exchange of nuclear warheads in 2077. This created a post-apocalyptic “wasteland” on the surface of the planet.
Vaults and Vault-Dwellers in Fallout
In the decades prior to the conflict in 2077, government officials and corporate entity Vault-Tec began commissioning the construction of large underground bunkers, known as “Vaults.” Ostensibly built for the savior of humanity, not nearly enough Vaults were designed to save a large portion of the population. Moreover, most Vaults were designed to run cruel experiments on the Vault-Dwellers, infecting many of the participants withthe Forced Evolutionary Virusthat can transform humans into super-mutants.
Above-ground, human beings survived however they could. Radiation led to some unexpected (and quite unpleasant) mutations. The cow with two heads is aniconic image from earlyFalloutgameplay. In the Appalachian region displayed inFallout: 76, giant mutated bats known as “Scorchbeasts” lay waste to whole populations, infecting some humans then known as “the Scorched.”
The Fallout TV Show Goes In a New Direction
Each installment of theFalloutseries takes place in different regions of the United States at different periods in the post-apocalypse. With so much lore, it’s tempting for a series director to choose a specific plot line to recreate. However, as Jonathan Nolan expressed in aninterview with T3 about theFalloutseries, trying to please all fans can be a “fool’s errand.”
The series takes a different direction from thewritten game stories.TheFalloutshow follows Ella Purnell’s Lucy, a Dweller in Vault 33 who goes on a quest to the above-ground Wasteland. There, Lucy is met with hostility by the various survivors of the nuclear apocalypse. Walton Goggins also stars as The Ghoul, a centuries-old bounty hunter, while Aaron Moten will portray Maximus, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel. While these individual characters are new, they all belong to contingents shown throughout the game’s many story-lines.
Falloutdirector Jonathan Nolan: “I don’t think you really can set out to please the fans of anything, or please anyone other than yourself.”
The world ofFalloutis seemingly straight-forward, but slyly rich and sprawling. Spanning more than two centuries of story, the games present infinite opportunity for direct adaptation. Rather than trying to fit all theFalloutlore into one series, Nolan’sFalloutwill stand on its own, much like Paramount Plus’Halo.
This also fits nicely with the trends of the franchise.In classicFalloutstyle, Nolan’s serieswill showcase its own unique direction, scope, and story-line. This makes the series all the more exciting, and the wait for April 11 all the more nail-biting.
Fallout 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, invite you to the ambitious open world of Fallout 4. Do whatever you want in a massive Commonwealth with hundreds of locations, characters and quests.As the sole survivor of Vault 111, only you’re able to rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone - the choices are yours.From a Power Armor-toting soldier to the charismatic smooth-talker, be whoever you want with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. character system and develop your own playstyle from hundreds of Perks.Experience exciting first- or third-person combat with the dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S., targeting enemies for maximum tactical advantage (and cinematic carnage!) Collect, upgrade and build thousands of items with Fallout 4’s crafting system. Weapons, armor, food and with the right materials, even entire settlements are possible. Welcome home.
