‘Fallout’ Video Game Adaptation In The Works For Amazon From ‘Westworld’ Creators

An adaptation of the popular post-apocalyptic video game Fallout is currently in the works at Amazon from Westworld co-creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new series is part of their overall nine-figure deal they signed with Amazon last year.

At present, the series is in the early developmental stages, with no writer attached just yet. It does have a commitment penalty, meaning that if Amazon does like the early scripts, the show will not have to go through the traditional pilot phase and will instead be ordered straight-to-series.

Fallout is a series of role-playing games “set in the future envisioned by Americans in the late 1940s when the country explodes upon itself through a nuclear war in 2077.”

Starting in 1997, the franchise has had four main games and multiple spin-offs. Based on The Hollywood Reporter article, it seems like Nolan and Joy will oversee a project based on the first game. If the show is successful, it would seemingly adapt plotlines from some of the others in the franchise.

Todd Howard of Bethesda Games and James Altman from Bethesda Softworks will also executive-produce the show with Nolan and Joy.

In a shared statement from the Westworld creators, they discussed how excited they were to begin work on the massive new universe.

“‘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. So we’re incredibly excited to partner with Todd Howard and the rest of the brilliant lunatics at Bethesda to bring this massive, subversive, and darkly funny universe to life with Amazon Studios.”

Howard, a renowned video game designer, also commented that he and his team had been seeking a way to adapt Fallout for television or film but did not feel like they found the right people until they met with Nolan and Joy.

He followed up by saying that he and the rest of the folks at Bethesda Game Studios were “fans of their work,” and looked forward to working alongside them and the streaming service.

Albert Cheng, the co-head of Television for Amazon Studios, added that the “deeply compelling storyline” of Fallout would make for great television and that Nolan and Joy were the ideal team to develop the show.

Fallout joins several other high-profile television shows in development at Amazon, including the highly-anticipated Lord of the Rings adaptation, which the outlet says could wind up being the most expensive series ever produced.