Fallout Season 2 star Macaulay Culkin was already familiar with the game’s story despite never playing it

Fallout 2 is heading for release on December 17, 2025. Season 2 brings viewers into an eerie world set in the ruins of post-nuclear America. The show is based on the role-playing video game franchise created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky. Macaulay Culkin was recently added to the cast to play a soldier in Caesar’s Legion, setting up the cast for a thrilling second installment.

One of the key strengths of the popular video game series is its story element. The actor recently revealed that before joining the show, he knew about the game’s lore. He mentioned that he did not learn the story from playing the game firsthand but absorbed it from YouTube videos.

Fallout Season 2 star Macaulay Culkin reveals how he knows the lore

Speaking to IGN, Culkin expressed that he learned and followed the lore of the Fallout game series from watching YouTube rather than playing its main games. He said,

“I'm very familiar with the lore,”

The actor further explained that he was not completely unaware of the expansive lore of the video game. This is not the first time a video game series has been adapted for the screen. In 2023, the popular game series The Last of Us was adapted for television.

Macaulay Culkin mentioned,

“For sure. I've less hands-on experience with the games themselves, but that being said, I knew what I was walking into.”

Even without extensive gameplay hours, he didn’t feel lost when the show began layering in references. In fact, he often acted as the explainer while watching Fallout with Brenda Song.

“When we [Culkin and actress Brenda Song] were watching the show, I would pause it for her and catch her up on like, oh, that's what this means, or that means, or that kind of thing. Even some of the subtle subtext of the show.”

There is, however, one Fallout game he actively plays: the mobile title Fallout Shelter. Outside of that, his attachment to the series comes from how flexible and wide-open its fiction is:

“You could have zombies in it, you have deathclaws, you have monsters and things like that. I mean, gosh, you have aliens. You name it, you can throw it at the wall."

Fallout 76, he pointed out, even brought the Mothman into the universe. For him, that sense of creative permissiveness is part of the appeal.

“It is that kind of stuff. There's no really shape to it. You can kind of stick any kind of shape piece into that hole.”

What matters to him is the richness of the world. He described the Fallout universe as a place full of stories, characters, and strange corners that are fresh and endlessly explorable, making it a fan favorite.

He also mentioned that he loves listening to songs, putting his earbuds on. He added that he does not have much time but still likes to listen to things.

“This is long before the show even came out, because it is a very rich world. And so yeah, there are endless hours of things that you can talk about and explore about it.”

As far as the story of Season 2 is concerned, viewers may expect to be transported to a post-nuclear setting and to the world of New Vegas.

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The second season premieres on December 17, 2025. You can stream the show on Amazon Prime Video.

Also read: Cast of Percy Jackson & The Olympians nominate their dream casting on the show

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