A Fallout veteran says the success of the Fallout TV show was especially gratifying given the struggles of the Borderlands movie. In an interview on the Boss Rush network podcast , long-time Fallout producer Jeff Gardiner discusses how "RPGs live and die on story" , explaining how a strong narrative can outrank frustrating mechanics. Gardiner, who spent more than a decade on Fallout across Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, says that that philosophy rang true across the games, but that he also "saw that in the Fallout TV show being super successful.
" "That wasn't even because of the characters," he goes on, "because they didn't use canon characters, [...
] but that setting and tone was enough connective tissue and glue for [director] Jonah Nolan and the showrunners to make an amazing series out of. And that speaks very well, because there was another movie released [recently], based on a more action-oriented game, which is a fantastic game - but man, that movie's being pilloried." Given the timing of this interview, which dropped on YouTube last week, it's pretty clear that Gardiner is talking about the Borderlands movie.
The movie had an opening weekend of just $8.8 million against a $110 million budget. Poor reviews meant that the movie remains the second worst-received film of the year , and the film is reportedly heading to streaming after just three weeks .
Gardiner doesn't comment on the quality of the film himself but says that its failure means he's even more aware .