Fallout season 2: everything we know so far about the popular Prime Video show’s return

Fallout season 2 is preparing to set the world on fire again. The hugely popular Prime Video show’s next entry is due out sometime in December – and, with the series set to have a presence at gamescom 2025, an official release date and/or trailer could be with us imminently.

Ahead of their potential reveals, you’ll want to get the lowdown on the Fallout TV show‘s sophomore season. Below, I’ve rounded up the latest and biggest news, plus the odd rumor, about the Amazon TV Original’s next installment. That includes further details on its cast, plot, and future.

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

Fallout season 2 release date prediction

Fallout season 2 doesn’t have a release date yet. However, Amazon confirmed a surprise December 2025 launch for Fallout‘s next chapter in May, so now we’re just waiting on an actual date to be announced.

Prior to the aforementioned reveal, Ella Purnell, who plays Lucy MacLean, admitted “I don’t have a script, I have literally nothing” for Fallout‘s second season. Thankfully, Purnell and one of her co-stars Walton Goggins provided an exciting season 2 filming update in December 2024, with the pair revealing the cameras had begun to roll. Principal photography wrapped in early May ahead of this season’s launch window unveiling.

So, when do I think one of the best Prime Video shows is back on our screens? I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes its bow on December 4 or 5. That way, new episodes of Fallout season 2 can debut in and around the multi-episode release of Stranger Things season 5, which arrives in three parts in November and December, and is sure to dominate the festive streaming schedule.

Fallout season 2 trailer: is there one?

No, but I’d expect one to finally be unveiled at Opening Night Live during this year’s gamescom, which will take place tonight August 19). If one is released, I’ll update this section.

Fallout season 2 confirmed cast

Here’s who we’re expecting to see in Fallout season 2:

• 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
• Frances Turner as Barb Howard

The first six cast members are definitely back for more adventures across the Wasteland. Indeed, Amazon confirmed as much via Fallout season 2’s first-look images.

Supporting cast members from season 1 could also return. That contingent might include Xelia Mendes-Jones’ Dane, Johnny Pemberton’s Thaddeus, Leslie Uggams’ Betty Pearson, Dave Register’s Chet, Annabel O’Hagen’s Stephanie, Zach Cherry’s Woody, and Rodrigo Luzzi’s Reg.

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. If season 2 contains flashback sequences that predate The Great War – based on some of the aforementioned images, it will, too – we should learn more about the NCR’s creation and role in founding Shady Sands, plus Vault-Tec’s nefarious rise to power.

Newcomers wise, Macaulay Culkin has reportedly signed on for a mystery role in Fallout season 2. Lastly, speaking to IGN, director and executive producer Jonathan Nolan revealed Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Westworld) has inquired about being part of the cast, so don’t be shocked if he and/or other famous faces follow Matt Berry’s (What We Do in the Shadows) season 1 lead and cameo this season.

Fallout season 2 plot speculation

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

Fallout season 2’s story synopsis hasn’t been publicly disclosed. But, like its official release date and first trailer, some details may be revealed at gamescom 2025.

For now, we can only go on what its creative team has teased. That includes what executive producer Jonathan Nolan told TechRadar, i.e. that Fallout‘s executive team has “had some really cool conversations” about season 2, some of which could even impact future entries in Bethesda’s videogame franchise. That’s because events in Fallout‘s TV adaptation are deemed canon in the games.

Plot-wise, one of the most important storylines that requires further exploration in season 2 involves Hank, aka Lucy and Norm’s dad.

In last season’s finale, Hank was revealed as 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. The pair were among those 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.

Rose – Lucy and Norm’s mom, and Hank’s wife – was turned into a feral 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 important? Episode 8’s final moments revealed Lucy and The Ghoul had formed an uneasy alliance to pursue Hank. For her part, Lucy wants more answers about her dad’s involvement with Vault-Tec and his familial betrayal. Meanwhile, The Ghoul needs to find Hank to get information on which vault his wife and daughter – Barb and Janey – are in.

Before The Great War, Barb, a high-ranking Vault-Tec staff member, secured a place in one of the evil megacorporation’s most prestigious underground bunkers for her family. However, the implied breakdown of Cooper and Barb’s marriage – something we should learn more about in season 2 – suggests 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 Barb was also involved in concocting the idea of The Great War to line Vault-Tec’s pockets and ensure it was well positioned to rule the US after the nuclear apocalypse. She was joined at that pivotal meeting by other scheming executives looking to make a quick buck, including RobCo owner Robert House (played by Rafi Silver), an Machiavellian and engimatic ruler who’s known as Mr. House, and who first appeared in Fallout: New Vegas. That’s the title of the 2010 video game from Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment, which is viewed as one of the franchise’s best entries.

Why do you need to know this? Because Fallout season 2 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 and, as evidenced by Fallout season 2’s first poster, will be a major setting for the show’s next chapter. It seems Mr. House is being positioned as one of this season’s primary antagonists, then.

A trip to New Vegas isn’t the only thing that delighted long-time fans in the mid-credits scene. Indeed, the skull of a Deathclaw, one of the most formidable monsters in the Fallout universe, was also glimpsed. Speaking to The Wrap, Wagner confirmed Deathclaws would appear in season 2.

As for Maximus, his fellow Brotherhood of Steel, erm, brothers believe he was the one who killed Moldaver – his friend Dane convinces them this was the case – so he’s set to have a more influence within the group. However, Maximus fell for Lucy during the pair’s Wasteland excursions last season, so we expect Maximus’ allegiances to be torn between staying with the Brotherhood and wanting to be reunited with Lucy.

There are plenty of other subplots that require further examination. We need to find out how Norm plans to free himself from Vault 31, reunite with those Vault 33’s inhabitants who resettled 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.

Additionally, 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. In short: Fallout season 2 has a lot of ground to cover.

Is Fallout season 2 going to be the final installment?

Nope! In May, Amazon confirmed a third season was in development, so there’s plenty more to look forward to after Fallout season 2’s final end credits roll.

Speaking at Comic-Con Liverpool (as reported by The Gamer) earlier this year, Moten suggested it’ll take five or six seasons to tell Fallout’s full story. That tracks with comments made by showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Dworet-Robertson, who told The Hollywood Reporter they were eyeing a similar number of seasons.

Of course, much will depend on the show’s ongoing popularity. But, with season 1 being one of the most-watched Prime Video TV Originals ever, there’s no reason to suspect Fallout won’t continue to be successful.

For more Prime Video coverage, read our guides on The Boys season 5, Invincible season 4, Gen V season 2, and The Rings of Power season 3.