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Video game developer Todd Howard has been looking forward to a cinematic adaptation of the gameFalloutfor over fifteen years. The developer reportedly thought of Jonathan Nolan after seeing his work onThe Dark Knightand wished for him to adapt the beloved video game franchise to TV. His wish came true, as Amazon Prime Video’sFalloutrecently began streaming.
Falloutis another video game adaptation that is getting positive reviews like last year’s Pedro Pascal starrer,The Last of Us. Howard mentioned that he lovedThe Last of Usas a game too, and had immediately thought how it would be as a movie. However, withFallout, the team had to go in a different direction than the games as it was an open-world video game.
Todd Howard Waited For A Decade To GetFalloutAdapted To TV
Video game adaptations have always been a tough nut to crack for filmmakers. Many adaptations such asAssassin’s CreedandUnchartedhave been victims of bad writing and have not been successful. However, things seem to be changing with more adaptations such as last year’sThe Last Of Us,and now with Amazon Prime’sFallout.
“The show has the ability to show the past”: Jonathan Nolan’s Fallout Excels in 1 Area Where the Games Failed and Todd Howard Fully Agrees
Falloutis one of the most popular open-world games, with four main games and multiple spin-offs. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic future that has been influenced by the post-war culture of ‘50s America. The first game was released in 1997. A fifth game,Fallout 5,was also announced (viaIGN).
Todd Howard, who developed the game, reportedly began working towards an adaptation of the game in 2009. The game had reportedly been tapped to be adapted into a film for Interplay’s film division but the movie never materialized. While Howard was working on it, he reportedly came across Jonathan Nolan’s work and wished to work with him. He toldFilmfare,
“I remember my first meeting on something like this and kind of just took a long view and I was such a fan of the work that Jonathan had done both in movies with Dark Knight and Interstellar and then seeing Westworld. He had done a couple of interviews where he had mentioned video games and one of the games that I had done…Then somebody reached out and we connected and we hit it off right away.”
“There was a whole page”: Todd Howard Set 1 Ground Rule for Fallout TV Series That Jonathan Nolan Had to Abide By to Make it Possible
Howard mentioned how he and Nolan connected immediately and that the former felt that he was the right person and creative partner to develop the show with. Jonathan Nolan developed the show along with Lisa Joy, with Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner being showrunners.
Why WasFalloutMore Difficult To Pull Off ThanThe Last Of Us?
Unlike other video game adaptations,Jonathan Nolan’sFalloutdoes not adapt the story of any particular game in the series. Instead, the show is set in the same world as the game and follows the original story of a vault dweller who comes to the surface for the first time and sees the real world. The show stars Ella Purnell and Walter Goggins in lead roles.
“I’d like to approach it like it’s another entry”: Future Filmmakers Will Have to Take Jonathan Nolan’s Fallout Pitch to Convince Todd Howard for Elder Scrolls Adaptation
Todd Howard mentioned that it was harder to adapt something likeFallout, which is an open-world game, and that they had to take the creative route of developing an original story instead of following the games. Howard compared the show to last year’s successfulThe Last of Us,which was lauded for its faithfulness to the source material. Howard told Filmfare,
“Last Of Us’ story is so strong, you kind of could see that, ‘Okay, this would make a good movie.’ The game just works if you go on YouTube and just watch the game cutscenes. That wasn’t the case for us. Open worlds are very hard to translate, which is why we took the approach that we did.”
Howard also mentioned how video game adaptations were getting better by the day as the creatives who were in charge of adapting them were people who had played the games and had grown to love them.
Falloutis streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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