Todd Howard on other Bethesda mods after the fall: 'I'd probably say no,' but 'you never know'

As video game adaptations continue to grow in popularity in recent years, Bethesda Game Studios finally gets to make its debut with Fallout, the high-profile TV series from Prime Video that debuted last night. Unsurprisingly, this is not something Bethesda president Todd Howard has taken lightly.

“This is something I rejected for a decade,” Howard says. “Everyone wanted to do a TV show or movie (Fallout), and I was like, ‘Nahhaha.’ I wasn’t really feeling it.”

IGN got the chance to catch up with Howard on the red carpet for the Fallout premiere in Los Angeles earlier this week. We only had a few minutes with Howard, who also served as an executive producer on the TV show, but that was still enough to blow his mind little bit About what convinced him to finally adapt Fallout — and the chance of other Bethesda properties getting similar treatment.

For Fallout, it was all about finding the right creative partners.

“I met Jonah — Jonathan Nolan — and I loved his work: The Dark Knight, Interstellar, Person of Interest, and then Westworld, and we ran into each other,” Howard told IGN's Benjamin Watts on the carpet. “And I felt like, 'Hey, do you want to do this?' I like to treat it like another entry in the games. 'Like, let's define a new location, a new story, and let him and his crazy people do their thing, and we're really happy with how that turned out.'

@ign Todd Howard says he'll probably reject other Bethesda adaptations. #He falls #television #Displays #flow #primevideo #Bethesda #skyrim #ign #red carpet #big success #the first show #the games #video games ♬ original sound – IGN

And while fans are just starting to dive into the small-screen version of Wasteland, as envisioned by show creators Nolan and Lisa Joy, critics have already given it glowing reviews. IGN, for example, gave it a 9/10, calling it “among the best video game adaptations ever,” and there was already reason to believe a second season was in the works.

So, with these encouraging signs, does Howard think other Bethesda properties will get the adaptation treatment?

“I don't know. There's nothing in the works,” he says. “Everyone asks, like, about Elder Scrolls, and I keep saying no, too. And I'll take those — I'll probably say no. You never know if someone's going to click or not. But I think that really came from, 'We think' things are aligned.” “With doing high-quality work. It wasn't forced, it was kind of a natural relationship and 'Hey, this sounds really cool.' As opposed to 'We should have a show,' right? It never came from that.”

“I can't predict the future, but this has been one of the most fun projects I've ever done, and we're thrilled, everyone in the studio sees it that way,” Howard adds. “.

The art of adaptation

The Fallout TV series tells a largely original story, but of course it's set entirely in the world and lore of the games. Howard says this approach gave them the opportunity to explore this world in some fun ways.

When asked what definitely “We need to get into the TV show,” says Howard, “First, we need a moment where someone is leaving a vault.” And kind of, what does it look like for them to leave the safety of it?

But then, it was about expanding the world we already knew through games.

“The other thing I wanted to do in the show that we do a little bit in Fallout 4 and some other places, is to show the past.” “Because one of the best things about Fallout is the world before the bombs dropped. It's really unique, a post-nuclear future that we wanted and then things went wrong. And the series has the ability to show the past in a way that games haven't done before.”

And just for fun, we are king To ask Howard for his best survival advice when the real world inevitably becomes a Fallout-esque wasteland.

“Antibiotics,” he says. “Choose antibiotics. And high-calorie foods.”

Duly noted.

Fallout is now streaming on Prime Video. For more, check out our exclusive digital cover, featuring interviews with Nolan, Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, and more.

Alex Stedman is a senior news editor at IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.