How Fallout TV Show Is Like Batman Movies, According To Jonathan Nolan

The next big video game adaptation for TV is Fallout, and it’s here this week on Prime Video. One of the executive producers and directors, Jonathan Nolan, has now discussed how the show is similar to the Batman films, which Nolan also worked on with his brother Christopher.

The Fallout games are known for being open-ended and non-linear, so what Nolan could do with the Fallout series is craft his own original story inside the wider Fallout universe. That’s similar to what he and his brother did with the Batman series, he said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

“While there is canon here, there is no canonical version of each of the games. They’re different for everyone who played them,” he said. “Here you have this beautiful world with all this incredible work. You’re standing on the shoulders, as we were with Batman–and in a weird way, we wound up in a similar place to Batman. There were so many different versions of Batman. But when you sat down to do it, you said, ‘OK, we’re going to be faithful to which version of it?’ There are the core pieces of the canon you need to honor, but beyond that, you’re free to create. And that’s part of what’s exciting about [Fallout].”

Nolan said there is “incredible thought and beautiful design” that went into the making of the Fallout games, and he felt like a kid in a candy store getting to jump in and tell his own story.

“You have all these amazing things you get to play with, but you also get to come in and add some of your own ideas and thoughts. Some of the things you’re worrying about, having nightmares about, or fantasizing about–it gets to play a role in where the narrative goes,” he said.

The Fallout TV series premieres April 11 on Prime Video, and all eight episodes arrive at the same time. It’s still early days, but it looks like Season 2 may be in the works already.

For more, check out the gallery below to find out everything you need to know, including how to watch Fallout on Prime Video. You can also grab a bunch of free Fallout games on Prime Gaming right now.