MUMBAI, India - How will you live in a post-apocalyptic world where survival is a daily violent struggle? 

This is the story of the highly anticipated series “Fallout” which will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on April 11 in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. 

The "Fallout" series will premiere on Prime Video on April 11 (Prime Video) 

Story

The series is based on the popular “Fallout” video game franchise and stars actress Ella Purnell as Lucy, an optimistic Vault-dweller with an all-American can-do spirit; Aaron Moten as Maximus,  a young soldier who rises to the rank of squire in the militaristic faction called Brotherhood of Steel; and Walton Goggins as the Ghoul, a morally ambiguous bounty hunter who holds within him a 200-year history of the post-nuclear world.

The setting for “Fallout” is Los Angeles in the year 2296, or 219 years after a nuclear explosion decimated the planet.  

In the post-apocalypse world, a small group of privileged people lives in underground dwellings called Vaults.

Lucy’s sheltered life in the Vault is shattered when a treacherous event forces her to go to the surface to rescue her father, Hank, played by actor Kyle MacLachlan, known for “Desperate Housewives” and “Twin Peaks.”

Actress Ella Purnell as Lucy (Prime Video)

Walton Goggins as the Ghoul (Prime Video)

 Aaron Moten as Maximus (Prime Video)Walton Goggins (Prime Video)

Power Suit (Prime Video)

Moises Arias and Dave Register (Prime Video)

Power Suits (Prime Video)

“Fallout” was created by executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy (“Westworld”), Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel”), and Graham Wagner (“The Office,” “Silicon Valley”). Nolan directed the first three episodes.  

The cast includes Moisés Arias (“The King of Staten Island”), Sarita Choudhury (“Homeland”), Michael Emerson (“Person of Interest”), Leslie Uggams (“Deadpool”), Frances Turner (“The Boys”), Dave Register (“Heightened”), Zach Cherry (“Severance”), Johnny Pemberton (“Ant-Man”), Rodrigo Luzzi (“Dead Ringers”), Annabel O'Hagan (“Law & Order: SVU”), and Xelia Mendes-Jones (“The Wheel of Time”).

With dark humor, visually striking scenes, and adrenaline-pumping action, “Fallout” promises to hook audiences with its unique blend of storytelling and spectacle.

Ella and Jonathan 

In an interview with Manila Bulletin in Mumbai that took place during the Prime Video Presents roadshow, Purnell and Nolan talked about “Fallout,” the cast and what viewers can expect from the series. 

Purnell and Nolan went to India to promote “Fallout” including attending the Prime Video Presents event together with Prime Video and Amazon Studios Senior Vice President Mike Hopkins.

For “Fallout” the series, it was decided to have an original story instead of adapting the video games. 

Actress Ella Purnell (left) and director Jonathan Nolan during an interview with Manila Bulletin in Mumbai, India (Prime Video)

Actress Ella Purnell talking about "Fallout" during an interview with Manila Bulletin in Mumbai, India (Prime Video)

Director Jonathan Nolan during an interview with Manila Bulletin about "Fallout" in Mumbai, India (Prime Video)

“I think one of the things that we're excited about with ‘Fallout’ is that each game has a unique set of characters in a unique setting that continues to build up the world. So we talked about it in the beginning but I think right from that first meeting with Todd Howard [executive producer], one of the things that was most exciting about this was that it wasn't just that you had the invitation to do it,” Nolan told Manila Bulletin. 

He added, “It almost felt like it would be wrong not to do it that way because of the way the franchise works, because of the way that it continues to detail and populate this bigger mythology. And it also meant that we could tell a story that suited the format of storytelling a little better.” 

“One of the things you've got when you're playing a game is, it is first person. It is subjective. You can make different moral decisions. So along with our partners, Geneva [Robertson-Dworet] and Graham [Wagner], the writers on the project, the decision to make it an ensemble which, of course, you know you can do in games but you can't quite necessitate an original story,” he said. 

(From left) Prime Video India Country Director Sushant Sreeram, Ella Purnell and Jonathan Nolan during a media event for "Fallout" in Mumbai (Jonathan Hicap) 
 

(From left) Prime Video and Amazon Studios senior vice president Mike Hopkins, Ella Purnell and Jonathan Nolan during the Prime Video Presents event in Mumbai (Jonathan Hicap) 

Bagging the role 

It was on Feb. 14, 2022, Valentine’s Day, when Purnell received a call saying that she bagged the lead role in “Fallout” and she screamed with excitement. 

“I think it was something like ‘Are you sure it's definitely me?’” said Purnell to which Nolan replied, “We were sure.” 

“I was shocked, I mean, I was thrilled. I actually found ou, I remember, on Valentine's Day in New York. I was by myself and I just like screamed. Lost my mind,” she said. 

Nolan said having Purnell star in “Fallout” was “incredibly lucky” for him. 

“When you're writing characters like that, creating characters like that, especially Ella's character, Lucy, who's tasked with being the audience's surrogate in the series but also a full blown flesh and blood character who is smart, capable, principled, a little naive, hasn't had a chance to see the outside world, but we come to discover also incredibly tough and thoughtful,” Nolan said of her. 

He added, “I mean you're just looking for someone who can do literally everything and the tone of the show. One of the things that is so unique about the show is that it is dramatic, emotional but also funny and and goofy in places and weird, and so finding someone who could do all those things, along with Aon [Moten] and Walton [Goggins], Kyle [MacLachlan], the rest of our incredible cast, we just you know you feel so lucky to get to work with people like these.”

Director Jonathan Nolan and Ella Purnell during filming of "Fallout" (Prime Video)

Purnell said the challenges she faced happened before they started filming “Fallout.” 

“I think, for me, all the challenges were sort of before we started filming. It's the anticipation and the nerves. You know, first of all you want to do a really good job when you're taking an a video game adaptation that is so loved. Knowing that the character didn't exist in the games and she was sort of mine and original, ours, that helped a lot,” she said. 

“Fallout” will showcase action scenes and stunts involving Ella. 

“I was also really nervous about the stunts. I'd never done anything physical like that before. Well I would not consider myself an athletic person prior to this .I got a personal trainer which was so committed of me wasn't it? I know I was quite proud of myself and I love stunts and I work out,” she said. 

Nolan commented that “an actor getting a personal trainer, that really is going above and beyond.  

“I think I'm the first actor [to do this],” she said. 

Purnell and Nolan said they felt pressure to make “Fallout” the series popular. 

“Absolutely. I think the scope of the storytelling, the games themselves are incredibly popular and you know that. But I think part of the reason they are so popular is because they have so many different flavors. They have so many different textures in one series,” said Nolan. 

He said, “My experience of playing the games for the first time–and I  approached the project as a fan–was a continual sense of surprise, never quite knowing which way the game was going to go, being surprised and taken by the humor of it, by the violence of it, by the immersion of it and so we tried to take that feeling and create a series that would give the audience that same sensation.” 

Working with the cast 

Purnell was happy to work alongside Moten, Goggins and MacLachlan.  

“Kyle! Aaron's not great, Aaron's amazing but I have a special place at my heart for Kyle. I just adore him. it was fantastic. I mean, really, such a great cast. We were all really, really good friends outside of that and it was a long shoot,” she said. 

She added, “We were shooting mostly in New York, Utah, Namibia. We got to travel the world together as a group of friends really and it was fantastic. Aaron, in particular, I think is just the most talented actor and I didn't really get to see a lot of his stuff in the first couple of episodes. So being able to watch it in the screening like, he is an incredible actor you obviously know that. I'm learning” 

Nolan said directing “Fallout” was closer to his previous directing project. He previously helmed “Westworld.” 

He said directing “Fallout” was an incredible experience coupled with working with the showrunners and cast. 

“I think it's closer. The scale of it is enormous for television, for filmmaking and the tone of it, for me, is the closest I've come to working on comedy. We have two showrunners, Geneva and Graham, and their backgrounds,” he said. 

He added, “Geneva has written action movies, Marvel movies, closer to my background and Graham comes from comedy. Worked on ‘The Office,’ in ‘Silicon Valley.’ in ‘Portlandia’ and that combination of those two sensibilities meant that we'd be on set and for me as a filmmaker to get that chance to to work with some incredibly gifted comic actors and play with the material a little bit and try out different things was an incredible experience.” 

What viewers should look out for 

On what viewers should look out for in “Fallout,” Purnell said, “”Look, there's nothing we can say to prepare you for the experience of watching ‘Fallout.’ Expect the unexpected.  You really will never ever be able to predict what's coming I think.” 

According to Nolan, “So many things. The cast and the crew both approached the games with such love. If you're looking closely at the screen you're going to see a million little details from the game brought to life.”

“Fallout” will stream exclusively on Prime Video on April 11.