Fallout 5is likely still many years away thanks to Bethesda’s focus onThe Elder Scrolls 6. Fans ofThe Elder Scrolls 6have been waiting for it for over a decade, and so that Bethesda is focusing on its development is good news. It’s a loss forFallout 5, however, as it means thatFalloutgames will most likely miss out on including some of the best characters in its universe.
Adaptations of video games rarely succeed, butAmazon Prime’sFalloutTV seriesstands out as a notable exception.Fallouthad characters who were especially popular with viewers, as they not only fit perfectly in the world, they deepened the lore and had compelling arcs. Putting characters from other mediums into video games can be used to great effect, especially ones as iconic as the Ghoul. However, there’s a very real chance thatFallout 5could miss out on this opportunity.
Amazon’s Fallout Characters Made a Mark on Audiences and Fallout’s Lore
The Ghoul has become one of the most popularFalloutcharacters, and his backstory givesFallout’s lore a hefty punch. Originally named Cooper Howard, the Ghoul was revealedto be the original Vault Boy. Vault Tec had used Cooper’s image to create Vault Boy, and he createdVault Boy’s iconic thumb-up pose.
Cooper survived the nuclear bomb attack on Los Angeles, and is seen hundreds of years later in the Wastelands. His sardonic attitude, dry sense of humor, and prioritization of survival at all costs made him one ofFallout’s most popular characters. Cooper has appeared in some of the smallerFalloutgames, such asFallout ShelterandFallout: The Roleplaying Game, but hasn’t made an appearance in a mainlineFalloutgame as yet.
Lucy and Maximus, the other two major characters of theFalloutshow, were also incredibly popular thanks to their respective factions, lore, development, and personalities. Maximus' role in the Brotherhood of Steel would be perfect for a cameo role inFallout 5, while Lucy could also offer unique insight into the world.
Fallout’s Timeline is Key
Fallout’s timeline consistently moves forward, with the exception ofFallout 76:
It’s likely thatFallout 5will stick with this pattern, and take place sometime afterFallout 4’s 2287.Fallout’s games take place across over two centuries, which gives them flexibility in setting, but placing characters into the right timeframe is more tricky. In order for any of theFalloutTV characters to appear inFallout 5, it would need to have a timeskip of at least ten years, asFalloutconcludes in 2297.
Fallout 5would need to be set at a very particular time, as Lucy and Maximus would be too young or in a Vault if it’s set too early, while they’d be dead if set too late. Cooper’s timeline is also tricky to work around, as he was buried in 2266 until 2296.
This leaves a narrow window for theFalloutTV characters to appear, but it is possible. A bigger issue involves real world timelines.Fallout 5’s development is likely many years away, and a lot could happen in theFalloutTV series in that time. Any of the characters in the show could be killed off, or change in ways that make it impossible to appear inFallout 5.
The length of Bethesda games' development works against itself in cases like these. Cameos from other mediums, such as Saw Gerrera’s appearances in differentStar Warsproperties, often serve as a link between different stories that take place across the same setting, andFallout 5’s development taking so long that excluding this link could be to its detriment.
