Fallout fans rejoice, as there's yet another reason to be excited for Amazon's tv series based on the games. Ella Purnell, star of the smash hit Showtime series Yellowjackets, is cast to lead the series, alongside Tarantino film star Walton Goggins.
Amazon's Fallout series is being developed by Jonathan Nolan, the brother and frequent co-writer of Christopher Nolan, and the co-creator of the hit HBO series Westworld. Lisa Joy, another co-creator of Westworld who was also the writer and director of the recent sci-fi film Reminiscence, serves as an executive producer alongside Jonathan Nolan.
Per Deadline, Purnell's role is not being announced at this point, but the outlet believes she is playing a lead character known as Jean. The character is described as "a young woman with a can-do attitude who may be hiding a dangerous secret." Inspired by movies like The Road Warrior and A Boy and His Dog, the Fallout games have long had a cinematic quality to them, right down to an iconic narration by Ron Perlman. Everyone's favorite aspect of the game is exploring the apocalyptic landscapes, meeting eclectic characters, and making choices for good or evil. With all of this in mind, it should be fairly seamless to translate the appeal to television.
However, there's also a number of factors against Fallout's success. For one, films and series based off video games have long been notorious flops. Most recently, the Halo series has failed to reach many viewers, though that could also be an issue with the Paramount Plus service in general. The recent Uncharted film has fared a bit better, as it's grossed more than the recent Sonic the Hedgehog and Tomb Raider films, but not enough to be called a runaway success. But perhaps more seriously is the current state of the Fallout franchise, as the most recent release, the multiplayer Fallout 76, was an unmitigated disaster. Many fans are still pessimistic about the prospect of the games, and would rather go back to old copies of Fallout: New Vegas.
While these are valid concerns, it's no reason to lose faith in the project. There's still a wealth of great material to be mined from Fallout, and every name attached to the project has proved themselves a great talent. Besides, everyone now is trying to develop game-based properties, including HBO with their highly anticipated adaptation of The Last of Us. By capturing a franchise as iconic as Fallout, Amazon Studios may find themselves at the top of this trend.
How will Fallout make way for greater game-based television and movies? Can the series live up to the glory of the games, and perhaps improve on the more recent entries? It's a tall order, but this cast and crew certainly has potential to reach that challenge.
Fallout is set to start shooting this year.
Source: Deadline