Todd Howard set one non-negotiable key rule for bringing Fallout to TV.

Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Fallout has been lauded as one of the best video game adaptations by fans, who have not only praised the cast’s performance but also the execution, CGI, and world-building in the post-apocalyptic drama. However, achieving this success wasn’t effortless.

Todd Howard, the game designer and executive producer of the series, revealed that they established several ground rules for the live-action adaptation. Among these rules, one stood out as a priority that Nolan had to adhere to at all costs.
Fallout

Todd Howard Shared the Prominent Ground Rule For the Fallout Adaptation

In a recent interview with Filmfare, the video game designer Todd Howard opened up about working on the Fallout series adaptation. When asked about the ground rules that they laid down before moving ahead with the adaptation, he said, “There was a whole page.”
Todd Howard (Image via Wikimedia Commons)
He further shared that although there were extensive rules, the authenticity of the Fallout world was their primary goal. He wanted the adaptation to remain true to the essence of the original series both in terms of its world-building and storytelling. Howard told Filmfare,

“I think the main one was to be authentic to the world of Fallout. I also wanted them to make it authentic from a storytelling perspective. Now with each game, we move that forward. We’re going to make changes to the world or what happens or what happened or fill in some blanks.”

Fallout (2024)
It also involved ensuring that the show’s creators remained in sync with them to keep it aligned with the lore established in the games while also allowing for expansion and exploration of previously unexplored aspects of the game series.

“There’s so many great things there,” he said, emphasizing that they aimed to deliver an experience that would resonate with and delight fans of the post-apocalyptic game series. During the interview, Howard also shared that before the TV series, there were considerations for a film adaptation of the game.

Todd Howard Reflected on the Initial Adaptation Plans For the Game Series

In his conversation with Filmfare, the video game designer and producer also revealed that before the Amazon Prime TV series, the popular game was slated for a film adaptation. “That was how it originally came up all that time ago, 15 years ago, as a movie,” he shared.
Ella Purnell as Lucy McLean | Image via Amazon Studios.
However, he also shared that condensing the vast world and narrative of the games into a feature film wouldn’t do it justice. And the plans for a film adaptation were canceled. As they recognized the evolving landscape of television, the decision was made to pursue a TV series adaptation instead.

“I honestly felt that trying to compress the world and the games that we have shown into like an hour-plus thing wasn’t the right approach—And as TV, I’ll call it big budget high profile television, was really maturing. So we felt, ‘Hey, this is the right approach.’”
Walton Goggins as The Ghoul
Starring Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Walton Goggins, the post-apocalyptic series follows the journey of Lucy McLean as she navigates the dangerous wasteland of devastated Los Angeles, centuries after a cataclysmic event.

Fallout is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.