Fallout Trailer Gives a Glimpse of Irradiated Wasteland Filled With Ghouls, Giant Roaches, More

The Fallout TV series just got a trailer, giving us a glimpse into its irradiated post-apocalyptic world. Unveiled during the Comic-Con Expo (CCXP) event in Brazil, the show brings forth an original story set in a dilapidated Los Angeles and runs canon to the Bethesda game’s universe — adding to the franchise, instead of adapting from one of its titles. However, just like the games, the tale largely follows a vault dweller who heads out into the nuclear wasteland in search of answers and in the process, meets countless eccentric characters — both good and bad — and uncovers the larger politics surrounding class divide, morality, and more. Fallout premieres April 12 on Amazon Prime Video.

“I know that I’ve lived a relatively comfortable life,” Lucy (Ella Purnell) says in the Fallout trailer, as she leaves her underground shelter Vault 33 and heads out to the topside. It’s unclear what caused her to leave, but some glimpses at the inside activities suggest that the dweller got into a scuffle, leading to mass bloodshed — presumably caused by the regular social experiments conducted by Vault-Tec Corporation. This is a universe set 200 years after a nuclear apocalypse ravaged the lands, with the wealthiest folk seeking refuge in cutting-edge, luxurious buried dwellings while the poor withered away to radiation or succumbed to its mutating effects. A lot of this is depicted in the trailer via vast stretches of emptiness, broken structures, and an abundance of radroaches, which as the name suggests, are enlarged mutated cockroaches. “Vault dwellers are an endangered species,” a voiceover warns Lucy, signifying how much the outside world had changed since the explosions were set off.

In addition to Lucy, the Fallout series will focus on two main characters — Cooper Howard and Maximus. The former (Walton Goggins) is a Ghoul — human survivors who got mutated by residual irradiation turning into noseless zombie-looking beings — living life as a dashing cowboy, accompanied by Dogmeat, the iconic German Shepherd who is briefly seen devouring a radroach in the Fallout trailer. Meanwhile, Maximus (Aaron Moten) is a wannabe soldier, raised by the metallic Brotherhood of Steel military troop, looking to prove his worth to the super soldiers fearing that he might be cast aside at any moment. Towards the end, we’re treated to visuals of battle as The Ghoul starts shooting people at a Western saloon, automated miniguns start firing at civilians, and an unnamed Vault 33 dweller with a fork stuck in her eye goes berserk. There’s also a quick look at a Yao Guai — mutated black bear — easily tearing through heavy metal power armours and a Chris Parnell as a cyclops Vault resident.

Fallout also stars Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) as Lucy’s father Hank, Moisés Arias (Nacho Libre), Sarita Choudhury (The Green Knight), Michael Emerson (Person of Interest), and Zach Cherry (Severance). Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy helm the series, in addition to executive producing with game director Todd Howard. Nolan also directs the first three episodes and continues the filmmaking couple’s partnership with Amazon Studios, which previously saw the sci-fi series Peripheral getting cancelled after the first season.

Fallout premieres April 12, 2024, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.