Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten on ‘Fallout’ and bringing a popular video game to life

Actors Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten speak about being a part of a global IP like ‘Fallout,’ their key takeaways from playing their roles and the journey they had in bringing to life this beloved game

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that we are on the cusp of a new era of live-action video game adaptations. With Halo Season 2 just ending its run, we have Borderlands, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Return to Silent Hill, The Witcher Season 4 and more eyeing for release in 2024 before The Last of Us Season 2 makes its entry in 2025. But if there is one title that is certainly creating all the buzz among video game enthusiasts, it’s Prime Video’s upcoming series adaptation of Fallout, one of the most beloved sci-fi video games. Premiering on April 11, the series created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner hails from executive producers and iconic sci-fi television filmmaking duo, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.

Told over eight episodes, Fallout is advertised as an epic post-apocalyptic series made with the best filmmaking technology. Set in a futuristic world reeling from a nuclear war, it takes the viewers into the barren Wasteland and tells a story from the eyes of Lucy, a ‘Vault Dweller,’ one of those privileged sections of survivors who took refuge in fallout bunkers. Lucy steps out into the Wastelands with a mission and having been raised in a shelter cut off from reality, she is forced to take re-stock of the foolhardy idealism and kindness she had believed in all her life. Lucy’s journey is interspersed with that of Maximus, a squire of a technocratic military order called Brotherhood of Steel, who vows to find his true identity as he takes on a journey of no return.

Actors Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten, who play Lucy and Maximus, respectively, can’t wait to speak about their reactions while stepping into these huge sets, their takeaways from playing these roles and the journey they had in bringing to life this beloved game

Excerpts:

It’s really exciting. It can definitely be a little bit daunting knowing that you’re going into something that is so well loved because you want to do it justice and you want the fans of the game to like the show. I knew of the games and asked Jona (Nolan) which one I should play. And he said ‘Fallout Four’ and I gave it a try. I wasn’t great at it; I died a lot of times (laughs). I quickly realized that my character wasn’t in the games and I realised the show is a separate thing that exists within the universe. But it was still really cool to get to know the props, sets, costumes and so on.

I haven’t played the game but I have spent a lot of time watching people play it on Twitch. Our characters are original to this story in the world that we’re telling and so this is very exciting to get the introduction, visually, to the world and to see the scope of it.

Aaron: Howard (Todd Howard; Fallout video game designer and an executive producer on the series) did a wonderful job with our scenic designs. So, it was often these incredible elements, whether it’s something small like these barrels on the side that you’ve actually seen in a game or the incredible town of Philadelphia that’s been created for this series. There’s something that gives you ‘awe’ when you walk out onto a set for this series.