6. The makers of the Fallout show clearly love the video games
Over the years, we've seen plenty of video game adaptations of various calibers. But something that seems to remain true is that, in order for them to really take off, it helps if there are people attached who are genuinely fans of the franchise. Craig Mazin, the co-showrunner of The Last of Us, comes to mind; he was a fan of the games for years before he and The Last of Us game creator Neil Druckmann teamed up to make their show.
We've already talked a little bit about how Jonathan Nolan began his Fallout journey with Fallout 3. But sometimes a picture (or trailer) says a thousand words. That's the case with this latest trailer, which absolutely bleeds love for the video games. From the radiation click sound effect during the opening pan of the Wasteland to the inclusion of the Vault-Tec bobblehead to the music choice of "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots (an iconic Fallout song), there are so many Easter eggs to pour over that we'd be here for quite a while if we listed them all.
It even sounds like John Cleese may reprise his role from Fallout 4 as a Mister Handy robot! Amazon has yet to confirm his involvement in the series, but that sure sounds like him at the 1:30 mark.
But more important than any of those specific details, the tone of the series matches the video games, at least so far as we can tell from the trailer. Fallout is unique because of how its tone can shift from quirky and humorous to dark and deranged at the drop of a hat. A prime example is that scene featuring the aforementioned Mister Handy robot, which cheerfully informs Ella Purnell's Lucy that it's about to harvest her organs before sedating her and trying to cut into her stomach with a buzz saw. It's going to get weird and gory and poignant up in here. But that's all part of the appeal of Fallout.
"It's such a rare thing and such an unbelievable thing, and I've gotten to do it twice in my career, to take something that you love and get a chance to play in that universe, to create, you know, your own version, I guess, of that universe," Nolan said. "The first go-round for me was Batman, and this time with Fallout, a game that I absolutely love, a series of games that I absolutely loved."
That barometer of loving the games served as a north star for the series. As Nolan tells it, it's pretty much impossible to please all the fans of a franchise like Fallout. But having a creative team behind the show that were already fans themselves allowed them to keep a healthy perspective.
"I don't think you really can set out to please fans of anything, or please anyone other than yourself. I think you have to come into this trying to make the show that you want to make and trusting that as fans of the game, you know, we would find the pieces that were essential to us about the games and try to do the best version of those we can," Nolan said. "I think, you know, it's kind of a fool's errand to try to figure out how to make people happy in that way. You gotta make yourself happy. And I've made myself very happy with this show."
Perhaps Fallout will make you happy, too. Find out when it premieres all eight episodes on Prime Video on April 11.
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