'Fallout' season 2 release date rumors, plot speculation and everything we know so far
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"Fallout" season 2 is officially leaving the Vault. Prime Video greenlit a second season of Jonathan Nolan's Emmy-nominated video game adaptation a little over a week after season 1 dropped in its entirety on the Amazon streaming service.
But hold your horses before you get ready to queue up Prime Video and head back to the Wasteland — and possibly New Vegas. While season 2 is officially in the works, we don't have an official release date yet. In fact, it's currently just as likely this show returns in 2026 as it does in 2025.
In the meantime though, we've got you covered. Whether it's release date rumors, plot speculation or casting announcements, you can find the latest "Fallout" news right here. Here's everything we know so far about "Fallout" season 2.
"Fallout" release date rumors
You can't blame the lack of an official season 2 release date on people not trying. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, "Fallout" showrunners Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner were asked point-blank if we'd get new episodes in 2025 or 2026.
For now, they're keeping that information locked in the Vault. But they did drop some promising breadcrumbs. Wagner said, "We are going as fast as we possibly can" and stated that a lot of work is already done thanks to season 1, including "sets, assets, visual effects." Robertson-Dworet echoed this sentiment of work already being done, saying, "It feels like we’re so much farther along" when comparing season 2 to season 1.
Our best guess? Don't expect "Fallout" season 2 until early 2026. A late 2025 release date wouldn't be impossible, but the latest reporting from Variety has filming rumored to begin in Toronto in September 2024.
Regardless of when season 2 arrives, one thing is for sure — new episodes will arrive on Prime Video. But they may not arrive all at once. In an interview with The Wrap, show director and executive producer Jonathan Nolan said that while season 1 dropped all at once, we shouldn't necessarily expect Prime Video to do the same for season 2. "For some series, it makes sense to do it that way for the first season and not necessarily that way going forward." He did unequivocally state though, that no decision has been made, and that anything definitive on that front is "a long way out."
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"Fallout" season 2 plot speculation
Spoilers for "Fallout" season 1 and 2, as well as the "Fallout" video game series beyond this point.
At the moment, we don't know anything concrete about what to expect in "Fallout" season 2. However, based on the ending of season 1, the Ghoul and Lucy seem set to traverse the Mojave Wasteland and arrive in New Vegas. And this season, those locations look set to be at least partially shot in California, so expect a realistic brutal hellscape.
The Ghoul and Lucy's end goals are also something we can make an educated guess about. What we don't know is how quickly they'll achieve those goals in season 2, if at all.
At the end of season 1, Lucy's father Hank had taken off in Maximus' power armor, seemingly headed to the "Fallout" video game series location of New Vegas. In season 2, we expect the Ghoul and Lucy to be on the Hunt for Hank, who was revealed to be a former Vault-Tec employee at the end of season 1. That means he worked with the Ghoul's wife Barb Howard, who the Ghoul is very much still trying to find.
We do seem almost certain to explore New Vegas, no matter what happens. In an interview with The Wrap, Jonathan Nolan said that we'll be exploring a "Fallout" video location that holds a special place for him, and the expectation is that New Vegas of "Fallout: New Vegas" fame is that location.
If we get New Vegas, we most likely get the return of Mr. House. In the game "Fallout: New Vegas," Robert House is the ruler of the post-apocalyptic city. We've actually already met him before though — Mr. House was the founder of Rob-Co Industries and is portrayed by Rafi Silver in the scene where Barb and Bud are presenting their plan to destroy the world for profit towards the end of season 1. Given that, in an interview with Variety, the showrunners promised that characters are Vegas-bound and that there will be more of Mr. House, this plot point seems inevitable.
We also seem certain to get Deathclaws. In that same interview, showrunner Graham Wagner said that Deathclaws will appear in season 2 and that they are "very excited to finally tackle one of the most iconic elements of the game."
Just bear in mind that while the show is generally considered canonical to the "Fallout" universe, that doesn't mean the show won't veer from canon. When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Wagner said that they did alter the course of the game series history and that it's "fun to play with." Don't necessarily expect major changes, but don't expect 100% accuracy either.
Do expect these things though: "more monsters, more environments, more factions." In a separate interview with The Wrap, Nolan compared season 1 of "Fallout" to "Batman Begins" and the upcoming season 2 to "The Dark Knight." In the first installment of both franchises, Nolan laid the groundwork and built the foundation for the fictional universe. Now, in season 2, he wants to start playing in the sandbox, "seeing what it can do."
We're already expecting New Vegas and Deathclaws to arrive in season 2, but with those quotes foreshadowing the new season, maybe we should expect a whole lot more.
"Fallout" season 2 cast
The season 2 announcement from Prime Video confirmed the return of Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten and Walton Goggins as Lucy, Maximus and the Ghoul aka Cooper Howard.
Beyond that though, there are some cast members we can expect to return. Here's everyone to expect in "Fallout" season 2, with confirmed cast members denoted accordingly. In an interview with Variety, Amazon MGM Studios chief Jennifer Salke said "We are committed to our journey with our beloved characters" so expect plenty of returning faces.
As we get more rumors and official announcements, we'll update this section.
"Fallout" season 2 cast
Ella Purnell as Lucy (confirmed): One of the show's three protagonists, Lucy is an optimist Vault-dweller whose world is turned upside-down by the events of season 1. She is currently with the Ghoul, tracking down her father Hank.
Aaron Moten as Maximus (confirmed): Another protagonist, Maximus was a young, zealous member of the Brotherhood of Steel before the events of season 1. He is now a knight in the Brotherhood, but no longer a zealot. He's also a potential romantic interest for Lucy.
Walton Goggins as the Ghoul (confirmed): The show's third protagonist, the Ghoul is a ruthless bounty hunter with a mysterious past as a human named Cooper Howard. He is hunting for his wife Barb, who worked for Vault-Tec before the nuclear apocalypse, and aiding Lucy in the hunt for her father Hank.
Kyle MacLachlan as Hank: Hank was a former Vault-Tec employee before the apocalypse and was installed as the Overseer of Vault 33 before he was abducted by Moldaver in season 1. He is the father of Lucy and Norm.
Moises Arias as Norm: Hank's son and Lucy's brother, Norm uncovers a dark conspiracy in Vaults 33 and 32 during season 1.
Sarita Choudhury as Lee Moldaver: Hank's abductor and member of the New California Republic. She is seemingly dead at the end of season 1, but it's not confirmed. She could show up in flashback scenes even if her death is confirmed in season 2.
Frances Turner as Barb Howard: A Vault-Tec executive and the wife of Cooper Howard, Barb is revealed to not be quite what she seems by the end of season 1. Her husband is now the bounty hunting Ghoul, and he's currently on the hunt for her, assuming she survived the nuclear war before the show.
"Fallout" season 2 casting rumors
Aside from the expected cast detailed above, there is one other casting rumor floating about. In an interview with IGN, Jonathan Nolan confirmed that Aaron Paul has shown serious interest in appearing in season 2. Time will tell if that desire bears fruit for the former "Breaking Bad" and "Westworld" star.
"Fallout" season 1 recap
I won't go into everything here — after all, the show is available for all to watch — but here's a brief recap of "Fallout" season 1.
In an alternate version of 2077, a Great War turns nuclear, causing a global apocalypse. Some who survived tried to build a life in the nuclear wastelands, while others formed (often violent) factions to restore some semblance of order in this new world. But some were able to survive in fallout shelters known as vaults, waiting for the time when it would be safe to rebuild society.
One such vault was Vault 33 in Los Angeles, and in it dwelt Lucy (Ella Purnell). As a vault dweller, she had a generally optimistic, naive, even patriotic view of life ... which is abruptly shattered when Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury) breaks into Vaults 32 and 33, ultimately kidnapping Lucy's father Hank (Kyle McLachlan).
Lucy immediately embarks on a quest to save her father, which takes her through the devastated lands outside of Los Angeles. In the town of Filly, she crosses paths with Wilzig (Michael Emerson), a wanderer Lucy had encountered in the wasteland. It turns out he's also the most wanted man in the wasteland, and both Maximus (Aaron Moten), a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins), a notorious irradiated bounty hunter, have come to collect Wilzig dead or alive.
Ultimately, Wilzig and Lucy escape Filly, but not before he's mortally wounded. He tells Lucy to take his head to Moldaver, who will likely exchange it for the life of Lucy's father. She does this, but then promptly loses it to a creature called a gulper who swallows the head whole. The Ghoul, having eliminated Maximus for now, arrives and tries to recover the head, but fails. He takes Lucy captive, hoping to exchange her for the medicine that keeps him from turning into a feral ghoul.
Meanwhile, Maximus now arrives at the gulper and secures Wilzig's head. However, his squire Thaddeus (Johnny Pemberton) takes the head from Maximus once it is revealed that Maximus has been impersonating the Brotherhood of Steel knight Titus. Lucy, having escaped the Ghoul and an organ-harvesting robot, teams up to recover Wilzig's head. However, they're both relatively bad at surviving the wilderness and find themselves captured by Vault 4.
Luckily for them, the vault dwellers of Vault 4 aren't as murderous as initially believed, and Lucy and Maximus leave with their lives. They eventually find Thaddeus and Wilzig's head, which Lucy then takes by herself to Moldaver.
It is with Moldaver that season 1 comes to a climax. Lucy arrives, to find out that her father is actually a former Vault-Tec executive assistant tasked with ensuring a society where Vault-Tec is secretly in control. The revelation comes at the same time that we learn that the Ghoul aka Cooper Howard knew his wife Barb and the Vault-Tec executives started the apocalyptic nuclear war to eliminate the competition. Lucy's brother Norm comes to a similar revelation about Vault-Tec's nefarious behavior after his investigation of Vault 31 uncovered that it contains cryogenically frozen Vault-Tec junior executives like his father Hank.
Sadly for Lucy, that's not the only revelation about her family that she discovers. Her mother Rose (Elle Vertes) is also with Moldaver, but as a feral ghoul — and it's Hank's fault. Meanwhile, the Ghoul has arrived as has the Brotherhood of Steel.
The whole thing ends in a showdown where Moldaver and the remnants of the New California Republic are slain by Maximus and the Brotherhood of Steel. Hank uses the opportunity to escape with power armor he stole from a Brotherhood of Steel knight and heads for what appears to be New Vegas. Lucy kills her mother, ending Rose's misery, and joins the Ghoul to hunt down his wife Barb and her father Hank.
Again, despite the length of that recap, it's super condensed, missing much of the nuance that makes this show so good. So head to Prime Video and watch "Fallout" season 1 now while we wait for season 2.
