Jonathan Nolan, known as Jonah, and his filmmaker brother Christopher Nolan were coincidentally working on projects about nuclear destruction, with Jonah working on the Fallout series and Christopher on the film Oppenheimer. Despite the heavy subject matter, the brothers were excited about each other’s projects and discussed them extensively during the creative process. Christopher’s Oppenheimer, which won seven Oscars, tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer developing the atomic bomb, while Fallout is an adaptation of the popular video game set in a post-apocalyptic world.
The Nolan brothers have a history of collaboration, having previously worked together on films like Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar. While they have worked on separate projects in recent years, they continue to share their work with each other and value each other’s opinions. Jonah Nolan mentioned that getting feedback from Christopher was crucial, especially in relation to the tone of Fallout, which he described as the closest he has come to working on a comedy in his career.
Fallout, streaming on Prime Video, follows the story of Lucy MacLean, who emerges from a fallout shelter into a nuclear-ravaged world 200 years after the bombs dropped. Along her journey, she encounters various creatures and humans, including a post-apocalyptic cowboy played by Walton Goggins. Nolan expressed excitement about the tone of the Fallout games, which he found to be dark, violent, political, subversive, and at times, funny. He was drawn to the unique tone of the series and wanted to capture it in the adaptation for the screen.
Despite their contrasting tones, both Oppenheimer and Fallout feature a shocking nuclear blast as a central plot point. Nolan highlighted the terrifying reality of a nuclear explosion, where the sound takes time to reach the observer after the initial blast. He drew inspiration from old atomic bomb test footage to create an opening sequence in Fallout that captures the horror and devastation of a nuclear explosion. While the projects may differ in tone, they both explore the impact of nuclear destruction in their own unique ways.
The Fallout series consists of eight episodes, all available for streaming on Prime Video. Jonah Nolan’s take on the popular video game franchise brings a mix of dark, political, and funny elements to the screen, capturing the essence of the original games while adding his own creative touch. With input from his brother Christopher and a deep understanding of the Fallout universe, Nolan delivers a compelling adaptation that explores the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse from a fresh perspective. The collaboration between the Nolan brothers continues to yield creative and thought-provoking content for audiences to enjoy.
