Fallout TV Series Star Understands Why Fans Are Hesitant But Sees A Shifting Tide

It is no secret that video game adaptations for film and TV over the years do not have the best track record when it comes to quality. Some believe the tide is turning thanks to HBO's The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, among others. Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), who stars on Prime Video's upcoming Fallout TV series, says he's personally witnessed a change in tone among gamers who want to see the source material represented faithfully on screen.

"The people that play the video games that are real fans are both excited and somewhat hesitant, I think, because they've been burned before," he told Variety. "But as we've been progressively getting into more press about it, as more of the teasers have come out, I find that the tone is shifting from one of, 'Oh, I hope I don't mess it up' to one of, 'Oh, I'm so excited. I think this looks pretty great.'"

MacLachlan, 65, also revealed that he doesn't play the Fallout games. "I tried and I died in the first few seconds. It's just like, 'This is a disaster,'" he said with a laugh.

The Fallout TV series is being led by Westworld veterans Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Nolan previously said the series is not aiming to necessarily only please fans and gamers. Trying to do that would be a "fool's errand," Nolan said. Instead, as a massive fan of the Fallout series himself, Nolan tried to make a show that made him happy, and he believes he has achieved that.

"I don't think you really can set out to please the fans of anything," he said. "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 [ourselves], we would find the pieces that were essential to us... and try to do the best version."

The Fallout TV series premieres April 11 on Prime Video. In addition to Nolan and Joy, Bethesda's Todd Howard was involved in the production and informed the showrunners to avoid certain subjects that could be featured in the upcoming Fallout 5.

The Fallout TV series doesn't tell the story of any particular Fallout game, but instead it offers an original story. The open-world game series allows people to do whatever they want and become their own hero, so trying to adapt that into a show wouldn't work very easily, co-showrunner Graham Wagner said.

"It's more creatively interesting to be able to build our own story in the world that they've carved out for us," Wagner said. "That's historically been the trajectory of Fallout. It's traded hands many times, with different creative teams taking it over. It's kept it fresh, kept it relevant. We chose to just vainly look at this as our Fallout.”

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.