This ‘Fallout’ Lore Is What Walton Goggins Is Most Excited To Explore in Future Seasons

Prime Video struck gold earlier this year with the release of the post-apocalyptic video game adaptation Fallout, and part of that success can be attributed to the performance of Walton Goggins. Playing alongside Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten, the Justified star snagged an Emmy nomination for his turn as the fan-favorite Ghoul, the former Western star Cooper Howard turned cynical irradiated gunslinger. Throughout Season 1, viewers see both sides of the character, as he uncovers Vault-Tec’s sinister nature in the past and hunts bounties in the wasteland. However, the finale sets him on a path to finally get answers about his wife and Vault-Tec in Season 2 and beyond. During an FYC interview for the show, Goggins told Collider’s Christina Raddish about the aspects of the story and his character he’s most excited to continue exploring when the show returns.

Fallout closed out its record-setting inaugural run with The Ghoul and Lucy (Purnell) confronting Lucy’s father, Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan), after it’s revealed that he was responsible for the nuclear bomb dropped on Shady Sands. We learn that he and Cooper had a history dating way back to before the world collapsed. With Hank alive, Cooper now has hopes of finding his wife, who also worked for Vault-Tec alongside him, and confronting the company about their efforts in ending the world. Hank flees toward New Vegas as Lucy and The Ghoul give chase, setting up for a season further exploring the plans and motivations of Vault-Tec, Cooper’s past, and how New Vegas fared under RobCo past the events of Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas.

For Goggins, the most interesting thing to explore about the Fallout story as a whole is the socio-economic aspect surrounding a corporation like Vault-Tec that controls, and ruins, the lives of so many behind the scenes. Season 2 especially will also be about how Lucy and The Ghoul now interact and work together, despite their differences, toward a common goal. What they’ve learned will drive them forward in their search for Hank and for whatever remains of Vault-Tec. Goggins told Collider:

“I’m not quite sure how that’s going to play out, but I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t be affected by the information that he has now. I’m really interested in the socio-economic/political pull-no-punches aspect of this story and exploring this communication between two people who see the world so very differently, based on economics, privilege, and circumstances, and having a lot of information versus having no information at all, between Ella [Purnell] and I, and how they inform each other going forward in this world. I’m really curious in exploring what the reasons are behind this consortium of people who have come together to bring about the ending of the world, the prophet, what that really means, and what that way of thinking means for the rest of us. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, on any level, but if that is happening on some level and if there is an Illuminati, I don’t even know. I just think about great food in whatever city I’m in and a great cocktail at the end of the day. But it is fascinating to me to at least hypothesize or live in a fantasy version of that.”

‘Fallout’ Season 2 Will Head to New Places for Filming

Goggins paints a picture for a second season that will be all about how The Ghoul processes his feelings about his family as he and Lucy follow the trail and gather more clues. “I’m excited about what happened to Cooper Howard’s family and what it will mean to The Ghoul and how he will respond to the information that he gathers, over the course of the season,” he told Radish. It’s likely to be the biggest plot point going forward, while Maximus (Moten) navigates life as a knight in the Brotherhood of Steel and Norm (Moisés Arias) gets by among the cryogenically frozen Vault-Tec execs.

Yet, Goggins also can’t wait to return to the simpler, fun parts of Fallout like blowing off limbs, roaming the wasteland, and working with Jonathan Nolan. “I’m also excited just to shoot some fuckin’ guns, man, and to be in a frame that Jonathan Nolan is directing, and to be with these actors in some really cool locations in the world. I love to travel. I love being on the road.” Season 2 will see the team move to California for the majority of filming, offering new possibilities that Goggins is eager to explore after having a blast with Season 1’s locales. “We got to go to some pretty cool places last year, and I’m looking forward to that opportunity again this year.”

Fallout Season 1 can be streamed in its entirety on Prime Video. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Season 2 as work gets underway.

Fallout

In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.

Release Date

April 11, 2024

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Seasons

1

Watch on Prime Video