Kyle MacLachlan is no stranger to the world of science fiction. Before he was Hank Maclean on Fallout, he was the original Paul Atreides in the 1984 adaptation of Dune. In an exclusive chat with HT ahead of the release of the show’s second season, the veteran actor discusses the show, learnings from Dune, and placating the gaming fans. Excerpts:
Fallout season 2 is one of the most anticipated titles we've had, because for a long time, we were told video games cannot be adapted. And then you guys did it so fabulously in season 1. So, is there more pressure for season 2?
What do you think? (laughs) I mean, we're in such good hands with our creators, writers, and the people involved, who are quite serious about creating an environment that fans will recognise and hopefully be able to experience and enjoy. So I think, and I know they felt an obligation and pressure to do it, you know, to do it as best as possible. I think they've done an amazing job.
I love how heightened the Fallout world is, almost to the point of absurdity, because you have to be a little absurd to adapt something like this. How do you ground your characters in a world that is so out there?
I think it's important to, as you said, ground them. And I think one of the ways that we are able to walk the tone is that all of the humour is absolutely committed to. You're not winking at all. You're very earnest, and I think that can really work in our favour. Then, we're helped by wonderful writing. It's exceptional, and it's also just the day-to-day experience on set; we have a wonderful group of directors who really understand the world.
You did Dune, which was sci-fi, four decades ago, when there was no concept of fandoms because the internet did not exist in this way, and social media wasn't there. How different do you find coming on a show, which is an adaptation of something that already exists? How similar or different is Dune from Fallout?
{{/usCountry}}I think it's important to, as you said, ground them. And I think one of the ways that we are able to walk the tone is that all of the humour is absolutely committed to. You're not winking at all. You're very earnest, and I think that can really work in our favour. Then, we're helped by wonderful writing. It's exceptional, and it's also just the day-to-day experience on set; we have a wonderful group of directors who really understand the world.
You did Dune, which was sci-fi, four decades ago, when there was no concept of fandoms because the internet did not exist in this way, and social media wasn't there. How different do you find coming on a show, which is an adaptation of something that already exists? How similar or different is Dune from Fallout?
{{/usCountry}}It's interesting because there were some similarities with Dune, being a beloved book written in 1965 by Frank Herbert. It’s one of my favourite books when I was a kid. There was a built-in audience for it, and there was an expectation for what Dune was going to be, recognising early on that it was absolutely impossible in a movie to tell that story. So it had to be almost a shorthand, and a world that was already complete. Frank had completed his whole mythology.
And one of the great things about Fallout is that we have a whole mythology of this world into which we can put this really compelling, interesting story of people that are trying to make a go of it. That's not much different.
Like you said, Fallout is an adaptation of a hugely popular video game franchise. How important is a series like this in expanding that universe?
I was hearing stories that there was an 80% increase in people playing the game after the series came out, and that's just like a huge number of people came to the game because of what they saw that we did on show.
Fallout season 2 brings back the original cast of Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins. The first episode will premiere on Prime Video on December 17, 2025, with the remaining episodes released weekly through February 4, 2026.
The writer attended the Fallout S2 junket in Japan at the special invitation of Amazon Prime Video.
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