Fallout season 2: Prime Video release date prediction, likely cast, possible plot, and more news and rumors

Fallout season 2 seems like a long way off at this point. Amazon's TV adaptation of Bethesda's iconic dystopian sci-fi videogame series is one of Prime Video's biggest TV hits ever, but progress on its development seems to be taking an age. Indeed, if comments made by one of its three main stars in October are anything to go by, it could be a long wait for its release.

Still, there's lots for you to read about on the massively successful Prime Video show's next chapter. Below, we've rounded up the latest intel on the Fallout TV show's second entry, including when we think it'll arrive, who's part of its cast, where its story might go, and the series' overall future.

Full spoilers follow for Fallout season 1. Potential season 2 spoilers are also incoming, so proceed at your own risk.

Fallout season 2 release date prediction

Fallout season 2 doesn't have a release date – and, by the sounds of it, one isn't going to be unveiled for a long, long time.

Speaking to Deadline and Variety in July, Amazon MGM Studios boss Jennifer Salke and Amazon's Head of Television Vernon Sanders suggested that development was going well. Indeed, the pair insinuated that script work was almost complete and that principal photography could begin earlier than many fans anticipated. However, in October, Ella Purnell, who plays Lucy MacLean, admitted "I don't have a script, I have literally nothing" for Fallout's second season. Unless Purnell is pulling the wool over our eyes, then, filming may not start for many more months.

Take all of that into account, and we'd be shocked if one of the best Prime Video shows make its irradiated return before early to mid-2026. We're happy to wait, of course, but we can confidently rule out a late 2025 launch.

Fallout season 2 trailer: is there one?

No, and there won't be for some time. We'll update this section when one is.

Fallout season 2 rumored cast

Amazon hasn't announced who'll be back in Fallout season 2 but, based on how season 1 ended, here's who we expect to return:

• Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean
• Aaron Moten as Maximus
• Walton Goggins as The Ghoul/Cooper Howard
• Kyle MacLachlan as Hank MacLean
• Moisés Arias as Norm MacLean
• Xelia Mendes-Jones as Dane
• Johnny Pemberton as Thaddeus
• Frances Turner as Barb Howard
• Leslie Uggams as Betty Pearson

Other supporting cast members, including Dave Register's Chet, Annabel O'Hagen's Stephanie, Zach Cherry's Woody, and Rodrigo Luzzi's Reg, should also show up in season 2's Vaults-based storyline again. Meanwhile, Michael Esper and Sarita Choudhury might reprise their roles as Vault-Tec employee Bud Askins and the New California Republic (NCR) commander Lee Moldaver, especially if season 2 delivers more flashback sequences that predate the Great War and/or explore more about the NCR's creation and role in founding Shady Sands.

There are bound to be new cast additions, too. Speaking to IGN, director and executive producer Jonathan Nolan revealed that Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Westworld) has already inquired about showing up, so don't be surprised if more famous faces cameo in the same manner as Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) in season 1.

Fallout season 2 plot speculation

Full spoilers follow for Fallout season 1. Possible spoilers for season 2 are also discussed.

Nobody – outside of the main creative team, anyway – knows what Fallout season 2's story will entail, but we can speculate on where the series might go, based on season 1's finale episode and what its cast and crew have teased.

In non-spoiler terms, Nolan told TechRadar that the Fallout crew have "had some really cool conversations" about season 2, some of which could even impact future entries in Bethesda's videogame franchise (NB: everything that happens in Fallout's TV adaptation is now canon in the games), but declined to elaborate further when we pressed him for more details.

Anyway, one of the most important storylines, that requires further exploration involves Hank, Lucy and Norm's dad. 

In the season 1 finale, Hank was revealed to be one of Vault-Tec's junior employees who was placed in cryosleep, alongside the likes of Betty Pearson, inside Vault 31 before The Great War before being reawakened over 200 years later to help Vault-Tec tyrannically rule the post-apocalyptic United States. He was also responsible for The Fall of Shady Sands – a cataclysmic event that saw a nuclear bomb dropped on the town that the NCR operated out of. As an aside, the NCR were almost wiped from existence during their showdown with the Brotherhood in episode 8 but, speaking to IGN, Howard teased: "I don't think you've heard the last of the NCR."

But we digress. Rose, Lucy's mom and Hank's wife, was turned into a ghoul due to radiation poisoning from said warhead (Lucy kills her to end Rose's misery in episode 8, by the way), while Maximus' entire family was killed during the initial blast. Oh, and Hank was also a huge fan of Cooper Howard – i.e. the A-list actor who becomes The Ghoul. In short: Hank has strong ties to all three main characters.

After those revelations came to light, Hank – who was accidentally freed by Maximus before Lucy could tell Maximus about Hank's villainous past – managed to escape in a stolen T60 power armor suit. He suffered a facial injury after being shot by The Ghoul, though, so he'll bear the physical scars – as well as the mental and emotional ones – to show for his misdemeanors.

Why is all of this so important? Episode 8's final minutes revealed Lucy and The Ghoul had formed an uneasy alliance to track Hank down. For her part, Lucy will want more answers about her dad's involvement with Vault-Tec and his familial betrayal. The journey she's gone on has left its mark on Fallout's primary protagonist, too, with Purnell telling GQ: "I don’t know who she’s gonna be in season 2, [but] this is what happens when you break the unbreakable. I don’t know who she’s about to become. How Lucy feels about her hope... she recognises that something is irreversibly lost, or broken, inside her. Maybe she still does maintain it in season 2, but it will never be the same. It can’t."

Meanwhile, The Ghoul needs to find Hank to learn which vault his wife and daughter – Barb and Janey – are in. The high-ranking Vault-Tec staff member secured a place in one of the evil corporation's most prestigious underground bunkers for her family, Cooper included. Of course, the implied breakdown of Cooper and Barb's marriage – something we should learn more about in season 2 – suggests that Cooper lost his place following their divorce, forcing him to survive as an irradiated ghoul on the surface. It's possible Barb and Janey survived The Great War if they were cryogenically frozen in Vault 31 or another subterranean location and Hank may know where.

All of this points to Hank being the show's primary antagonist moving forward, right? Not necessarily. Speaking to IGN, Nolan simply teased "you'll have to stay tuned" to find out if this is the case.

So, who else could it be? The season 1 finale revealed that Barb was also involved in concocting the idea of The Great War in a bid to line Vault-Tec's pockets and ensure it was well positioned to laud it over the US after the nuclear apocalypse. She was joined in that pivotal meeting by other scheming executives looking to make a quick buck, including RobCo owner Robert House (played by Rafi Silver). In Bethesda title Fallout: New Vegas, this Machiavellian individual (known as Mr. House) is the enigmatic ruler of the titular city. And, with Fallout season 2 seemingly heading to a dilapidated version of New Vegas – it's the location we see Hank look out onto in the season 1 finale's mid-credits scene – there's the potential for Mr. House to play a bigger role next season. Speaking to GQ, co-showrunner Graham Wagner didn't exactly shoot down that possibility, saying: "We certainly intend to expand on that [the Vault-Tec meeting and its nefarious characters]. That is an interesting moment to be double-clicked, as they say, in a future story."

The New Vegas tease isn't the only thing that delighted long-time fans in the mid-credits scene, with the skull of a Deathclaw, one of the most formidable monsters in the Fallout universe, also being glimpsed. Speaking to The Wrap, Wagner confirmed Deathclaws would appear in season 2. Color us excited.

As for Maximus, his fellow Brotherhood of Steel, erm, brothers believe he was the one who killed Moldaver – his friend Dane convinces them that this was the case – so it seems he's set for a more influential role in the group's hierarchy. But, with Maximus having fallen for Lucy during the pair's excursions across the Wasteland, coupled with his worldview being altered by season 1's many revelations, we expect Maximus' allegiances to be torn between staying with the Brotherhood and wanting to reunite with Lucy.

There are plenty of other subplots that require further examination, such as how Norm plans to free himself from Vault 31. As Arias told Inverse, Norm is "going to have to use every ounce of intellect he has to get himself out of that one", which hints at a protracted jailbreak for Lucy's inquisitive brother.

Other notable storylines include some of Vault 33's inhabitants resettling in the deserted Vault 32 (and whether Chet will finally reveal what actually happened there) and how Moldaver survived for over 200 years without turning into a ghoul like Cooper (Choudhury declined to give away any answers when asked by Inverse). Those answers lie in flashbacks to a time before The Great War and what Vault-Tec's overarching goal is, so we can expect more glimpses into the past in Fallout season 2.

In the present, we might catch up with Thaddeus, who believes he's starting to become a ghoul after consuming a mysterious serum from the cryptic Snake Oil Salesman. We may get more details on cold fusion, a new non-Vault-Tec technological advancement that might offer hope of a brighter future for the surface-dwelling common folk, too. Then there are subplots that were cut from season 1, with Wagner and fellow co-showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet telling GQ that "a cannibal encounter" was dropped for runtime purposes. However, the pair are confident "we'll find a place in season two for some of those, because some of them were really fun, and it was tragic to lose them."

It goes without saying, but we'll also get plenty more Easter eggs and references to the dense Fallout universe that Bethesda created. There were tons of those in season 1, so don't be surprised if its follow-up is similarly stuffed with other in-universe call-backs.

Is Fallout season 2 going to be the final installment?

Nobody knows but, given the richness of Bethesda's Fallout franchise and the sheer popularity of its TV adaptation, there's plenty more for the Prime Video series to explore and expand on from the games. In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Wagner teased the prospect of more entries, adding that "five [seasons] is suddenly feeling a little more appealing."

If the show doesn't wrap up its main characters' stories by the time Fallout season 2's end credits roll, it could follow their adventures in a third installment. Alternatively, season 3 could be set in an entirely new location (not unlike the games) and introduce us to new characters to not only fall in love with, but also see how they navigate a post-nuclear war-torn Earth and potentially unearth new revelations about Vault-Tec. Think along the lines of an anthology series like True Detective (now available on Max), plus Fargo and American Horror Story (Hulu and Disney Plus), and you'll get the gist.

Whatever direction Fallout goes in, then, there's plenty more material – old and new – to mine and explore respectively. War never changes – and neither will our adoration for this show if it continues to be as good as season 1 was. Roll on season 2 and more besides, we say.

For more Prime Video coverage, read our guides on the best Prime Video movies, The Rings of Power season 2, The Boys season 4, and how much a Prime Video subscription costs.