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The entertainment industry has historically had some trouble turning video games into movies and television shows, but Fallout on Amazon Prime is the latest project to suggest that the curse has been lifted.
The eight episodes that comprise the first season received a very positive reception after dropping last week, and it seems like there could be some sort of development in store for later this year based on an easter egg that’s managed to generate even more buzz for the show.
In 2023, HBO found itself with a hit on its hands courtesy of its adaptation of The Last of Us, and the folks at Amazon have seemingly followed suit after setting their sights on Fallout, the video game franchise chronicling the, well, fallout of a nuclear apocalypse that created a vast wasteland that serves as the backdrop to tales concerning the survivors who comprise what’s left of humanity.
Fallout had an incredibly rich mythos to draw from, and the series did an excellent job capturing the essence of the video games while constructing a new story with the help of the three central characters it revolves around: a “vault dweller” named Lucy, a Brotherhood of Steel member named Maximus, and “The Ghoul,” the moniker given to actor-turned-mutant Cooper Howard.
The Ghoul gives the always reliable Walter Goggins the chance to show off his range, as Fallout features a number of flashbacks to the life of a man who ended up working as the face of Vault-Tec prior to the launch of the nuclear bombs that necessitated the use of the underground bunkers the company constructed ahead of doomsday.
That includes a commercial that invites viewers to call 213-25-VAULT to inquire about securing a spot in those heavily fortified shelters—a number that directs you to a clip of someone screaming hysterically in pain if you give it a call in real life.
However, you’ll also get a response if you text the number in the form of a message informing you the next available appointment is “33 weeks from now.”
Now, it seems very likely the “33” is simply a reference to the vault Lucy called home before deciding to make her way up to the surface to look for her father.
With that said, some people seem to think it’s teasing some sort of development slated for the end of November (33 weeks from now), including a potential announcement concerning the release of Fallout 5, which is still not officially in development close to a decade after the release of the most recent installment in the franchise.
The easiest way to disprove that theory is to check back and see if that number gets lower as we move closer to the date in question, but we’ll have to wait at least a few days to put that approach to the test.