‘Fallout’ Video Game Franchise to Be Adapted into TV Series by Amazon Studios
The beloved “Fallout” video game franchise is being adapted into a television series by Amazon Studios and Kilter Films.
The “Fallout” video games take place in a post-apocalyptic alternative history where the United States rapidly developed advance technology after World War II and the Cold War never ended. A nuclear apocalypse eventually destroys much of the country. The “Fallout” games follow a customizable character who explores the remains of the United States several hundred years in the future. The first game in the series was released in 1997 and led to a variety of successful sequels.
The upcoming adaption will be produced by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy but most other details about the project are still under wraps.
“Fallout” take place in relentlessly bleak settings where scattered bands of humans fend off ghouls (zombies), various mutated animals, and other monstrosities. That said, the games are also known for their dark humor; all “Fallout” games relentlessly mock the excessive consumerism and American social norms that contributed to the apocalypse, while ludicrous side quests and characters — ranging from helping an Elvis Presley lookalike save his cybernetic dog, to exploring a vault of insane human clones all named Gary — provide a comic offset to the otherwise gritty atmosphere.
“Over the last decade, we looked at many ways to bring ‘Fallout’ to the screen,” Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, said in a statement. “But it was clear from the moment I first spoke with Jonah and Lisa a few years ago that they and the team at Kilter were the ones to do it right. We’re enormous fans of their work and couldn’t be more excited to work with them and Amazon Studios.”
While “Fallout 76,” the latest installment in the franchise, received dismal reviews from critics and was rife with controversy, that’s unlikely to damper enthusiasm for Amazon’s adaption. “Fallout” is widely regarded as one of the most cherished and influential role-playing game franchises in history and helped position Bethesda Softworks, which began publishing the game series in 2008 and also creates the immensely popular “The Elder Scrolls,” as one of video gaming’s most well-known companies.
The “Fallout” TV news is the latest in a string of announcements about acclaimed video games being adapted into films or television shows. Adaptions of popular games, such as “The Last of Us,” “Disco Elysium,” “Uncharted,” and “Cuphead,” among several others, are in the works at various studios.
