Argh, not the common fallacy that so many directors believe. When it comes to pleasing the fans, I am sorry but you have to please them. You're naming a show after the property they love for dog's sake. Why name the show "Fallout" if you're just going to make shit up without caring if it is true to the universe? The belief that straying from the narrative and major events put forth in the game at all will piss off all of the fans of a property is completely erroneous. You can; it has been done, and it has succeeded. Like every fandom, there is always going to be extreme grognards who will never be happy. If you're paying attention to them, you're doing it wrong.
I remember when the Doom movie came out. I was pretty excited. I didn't hate the casting, and they got a lot of the universe right. But then they changed "demons from hell going through a portal on Mars" to viral mutation. That is the core of the Doom experience. That isn't just a matter of trying but failing to please everyone; it was pissing over a property that has been established and revered for years because your ego tells you that you can do better. We didn't want high art, and we didn't want the nonsense you just threw in there, we just wanted you to make a fun movie that didn't insult us.
Saying "Well there's no way to please the fans, so I'm not going to even try" is a copout. You won't please all of the fans, but you can do a hell of a lot better than they did with Witcher (after season 2), Resident Evil, Rings of Power, or Halo. Those were downright insults to fans who wanted the spirit of the property respected, not a vehicle for you to push a message or just do whatever the hell you want. Barely caring enough about the world and the characters to even be bothered to familiarize yourself with it is just accepting a job for a paycheck.
I have no idea if the Fallout show will be good or if it will just be another failed vanity project that looks great but is terrible in every other way, but be careful of not caring what the fans think. That is the path to failure that so many directors have ventured down.
This comment was edited on Mar 15, 2024, 16:54.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi