Bethesda Rejected Multiple Fallout TV Show Pitches Before Jonathan Nolan Came Along

Bethesda rejected multiple pitches for a Fallout TV show prior to Jonathan Nolan selling Bethesda boss Todd Howard on his own vision for what a Fallout show could be. Appearing in a new Fallout featurette, Howard discussed why those earlier pitches didn’t go anywhere and why Nolan won him over.

“People have wanted to make a Fallout show ever since we did Fallout 3. I took a lot of meetings and had conversations. I was always sort of, ‘Well, it’s not really quite clicking for me,'” he said.

When Howard met Nolan, however, things changed. “Todd and I have had been fans of each other’s work for many, many years,” Nolan said.

Howard said he and Nolan hit it off from the first time they spoke on the phone, and Howard was particularly impressed by Nolan’s knowledge of and admiration for the games.

“It was very clear that he had played the games and loved them, and had a vision for what it could be on the screen. We were really, really patient. Once we found that, it was very clear to us that this is the right way to bring Fallout to the screen,” he said.

The showrunners have previously talked about how the Fallout TV show is basically Fallout 5, and Howard himself said the TV series should be thought of as the “next story” in the series. For what it’s worth, Bethesda is making Fallout 5, but it’s likely still a long ways off.

In 2015, Bethesda’s former marketing boss Pete Hines told GameSpot that the company was advised to be very wary about bringing its franchises to film or TV due to the potential harm that could be done with a poor adaptation.

The Fallout TV series premieres April 11 on Prime Video, and all eight episodes will be available on that day. For more, check out GameSpot’s rundown of everything you need to know about the Fallout TV show and how to watch the Fallout TV show.