Fallout: New Vegas Director Praises Amazon’s Adaptation as Among the Best

Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer has weighed in on Amazon’s Fallout adaptation, giving it a strong thumbs-up and calling it one of the best video game-to-screen efforts he’s seen in film or television.

Fallout Season 2 is anchored in New Vegas, the same location and namesake as Obsidian’s 2010 hit, Fallout: New Vegas. With Sawyer serving as both director and designer on that game, his perspective is especially relevant when it comes to how faithfully the series translates the franchise’s tone and spaces. He shared his thoughts in a new video interview about his career with The 41st Precinct.

Sawyer sounded genuinely impressed, while also noting that he has a few hesitations he isn’t even sure he’d label as “criticisms” in the first place.

Josh Sawyer’s take on the adaptation

“I think it’s an amazing adaptation,” Sawyer said. He acknowledged that the bar for video game adaptations can be low, but argued this one stands out as among the best he’s encountered.

He then clarified what he means when he talks about “critiques,” describing them more like writer preferences than objective problems. “I guess I would say that there are sort of critiques or like personal things where I would say, ‘I don’t know if I would have taken the plot in that direction,’ or, ‘I don’t know if I would have done that with that character,’ but that’s like, any writer is going to look at something and be like, ‘I don’t know if I’d do that.’ I don’t think they’re like real criticisms.”

From there, Sawyer addressed the handling of Mr. House specifically. He stressed he wasn’t the person who wrote or created the character, pointing instead to lead writer John Gonzalez. Still, Sawyer said he loves Justin Theroux and believes he delivered a great Mr. House, adding that he’s curious to see how the character’s story continues.

Quick facts

• Josh Sawyer praises Amazon’s Fallout as one of the best video game adaptations he’s seen on film or TV.
• Fallout Season 2 is set in New Vegas.
• Sawyer said Amazon closely matches the look of locations like a vault and Freeside, while layouts aren’t always identical.
• Some fans criticized a change to the Dinky the T-Rex statue’s direction in Novac for Season 2, Episode 1.
• Sawyer understands why Dinky was rotated and isn’t personally upset by it.
• The Season 2 ending sets up Colorado for Season 3, with The Ghoul already en route.
• Bethesda chief Todd Howard said Season 3 is in pre-production and starts shooting this month in Los Angeles.
• Amazon announced additional Season 3 cast members, including Manny Jacinto, Thomasin McKenzie, Emily Mortimer, and Aaron Paul.

Locations: accuracy vs. layout changes

Sawyer also addressed concerns some Fallout fans have raised about how accurately the show reflects the games. Even so, he insisted Amazon did a strong job overall.

“I did get a chance to actually see the set in Season 2,” he revealed. He said he got to see a vault and also Freeside, describing it as a district of New Vegas in the Mojave Wasteland. According to Sawyer, the visuals look very, very close to the games, even if the layout isn’t identical. He mentioned the same situation with Novac, where the layout differs, but the overall presentation still tracks closely.

At that point, Sawyer brought up a specific complaint from fans: the Dinky the T-Rex statue in the town of Novac. In Fallout: New Vegas, Dinky is positioned facing away from the town so it can function as a sniper perch. For the show, however, Sawyer said the statue was rotated 180 degrees to face toward the motel.

The reason for that change is tied to Season 2, Episode 1, where Lucy can appear as a sniper and shoot enemies outside the motel. Even with that context, some fans didn’t like the adjustment, arguing that Dinky was “facing the wrong way,” as the change directly contradicts the game’s original orientation.

Items and iconography: why Sawyer wasn’t bothered

Sawyer said he understands the decision and isn’t personally bothered by it, even if he anticipated backlash from dedicated Fallout fans. “I remember people were really upset that Dinky has turned around, and I’m like, personally… I get why people get upset about that, but also the scene wouldn’t work at all because it’s about Lucy firing into the thing or whatever.”

He added that the scene’s requirements explain the rotation, and that he didn’t feel “bent out of shape” about the change. Sawyer even joked that people might call him a traitor to Fallout for saying so. Ultimately, he said he views the update as a solid representation of the iconic elements players recognize, and he’s eager to see where the story goes next.

In the same stretch of comments, Sawyer reiterated that he considers the adaptation one of the strongest video game franchise translations to TV or film that he’s seen. He also said he’s looking forward to the next season.

He then shifted to the bigger picture, explaining that while New Vegas is present, the show’s plot isn’t simply retelling the game’s story. “What’s interesting though is the plot is like, yes, New Vegas was there, but it wasn’t about the plot of New Vegas,” Sawyer said, as discussion turned toward Season 3. He emphasized that the series is charting its own course and telling a specific story across those areas, even if he can’t speak to every location’s role in detail.

Warning! Spoilers for Fallout Season 2 finale follow…

Season 3 setup: Colorado and The Ghoul

After the Season 2 finale, the series sets up Colorado as the setting for Season 3, with The Ghoul—played by Walton Goggins—already on his way. While the snowy peaks of post-apocalyptic Colorado haven’t been explored in the mainline Fallout video games, the region did appear in a canceled Fallout 3 project known by the codename “Van Buren.” Sawyer worked on that effort as the lead technical designer while at Black Isle Studios.

With that context, Season 3 is expected to bring Fallout fans new ground and a broader expansion of the franchise’s canon. The show is set after the games within the Fallout timeline, and the series is presented as canon—meaning what happens on-screen continues the overall Fallout storyline.

Production and cast updates for Season 3

Bethesda head Todd Howard recently stated that pre-production for Season 3 is already underway. Shooting is scheduled to begin this month in Los Angeles.

Amazon has also announced several additions to the Season 3 cast. Those named include Manny Jacinto from Star Wars series The Acolyte, Thomasin McKenzie from Jojo Rabbit, Emily Mortimer from The Newsroom, and Aaron Paul, known for Breaking Bad. Howard described Paul as “a Fallout fan from way back.”