Todd Howard Blocked Fallout Movies for Years, Waiting for Perfect Partner
For a full decade, Bethesda's creative director turned down countless Hollywood offers to adapt their beloved franchise, refusing to settle for typical video game movie treatment until the right team emerged.
For ten straight years, Hollywood studios kept knocking on Bethesda's door with movie and TV proposals for their post-apocalyptic franchise. Every single time, they got turned away. The reason? Studio leadership wasn't about to hand over their prized intellectual property to just anyone with a camera and a budget.
The Hollywood Rejection Strategy
Emil Pagliarulo, a longtime Bethesda veteran, recently revealed the company's selective approach during a conversation with PC Gamer. The decision to keep saying no came straight from the top, specifically from Todd Howard, Bethesda's most recognizable figure.
"Credit to Todd Howard, we could have made a Fallout movie or Fallout TV show a decade ago - we had certainly been asked. But Hollywood, at the time, they wanted to throw 'the videogame directors' at us," Pagliarulo explained. "We don't want the guy who makes videogame movies. We want the best director, the best showrunner possible...a lot of it was waiting to find the right partner, and not just doing it because you could."
Why the Wait Made Sense
Ten years ago, video game adaptations had a terrible reputation. Most attempts crashed and burned at the box office, leaving fans disappointed and studios scratching their heads. Bethesda understood this landscape perfectly. They weren't willing to risk damaging one of gaming's most beloved franchises just to make a quick buck.
The gaming industry has watched too many cherished properties get butchered by directors who didn't understand the source material. Howard and his team decided patience was worth more than immediate profits.
Finding the Right Match
Eventually, Bethesda discovered their ideal collaborators in Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. Wagner brought experience from comedy hits like Portlandia, The Office, and Silicon Valley. Robertson-Dworet had worked on major blockbusters including Captain Marvel and Tomb Raider.
The Prime Video series they created became everything Bethesda had hoped for. Critics praised the adaptation, giving it a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. More importantly, it proved that video game adaptations could succeed when handled by talented creators who respected the original material.