Surprise, but no surprise: X Chairman and SpaceX founder Elon Musk made a cameo at Prime Video‘s Fallout experience on SXSW Thursday night.
While not an everyday occurrence in Hollywood, it wasn’t shocking to see Musk tonight as he’s a longtime friends with Fallout EP and director Jonathan Nolan. No to mention, Musk reportedly lives in the Austin, TX area.
In fact, Nolan sat down for a long conversation with Musk back at SXSW 2018 in which they canvassed several topics including SpaceX’s timeline for Mars exploration as well as hopes for an underground high-speed transportation system in Los Angeles. This all culminated with Musk and his brother singing a rendition of “My Little Butter Cup” from the Steve Martin-Chevy Chase-Martin Short 1980s comedy, The Three Amigos (watch below). It was a trippy experience that bears repeating, specifically because we need a post-pandemic update on SpaceX’s Mars mission.
Tonight, Musk waltzed casually into the exterior apocalyptic western facade from Fallout, kindly exchanging greetings with bystanders before playing with some of the experience’s carnival stands. This all occurred moments after those attending watched the latest trailers as well as 15 minutes from the show, which debuts on April 12.
Amazon has a history of dazzling at fanboy functions. At the first San Diego Comic Con post-pandemic in 2022, they treated the press to a fancy dinner with the cast and creators of Lord of the Rings complete with a choral and chamber music performance of Bear McCreary’s score.
Based on the video game series of the same name, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. Two-hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind—and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them. Set in the future post-apocalyptic Los Angeles and the world of Fallout, the series is an original story that will be part of the canon of the games.
The cast is led by Ella Purnell in the role of Lucy; Aaron Moten in the role of Maximus; Walton Goggins plays The Ghoul; and Kyle MacLachlan plays Overseer Hank.
The Fallout franchise has posted record sales and received several Game of the Year awards, while its mobile game, Fallout Shelter, has been downloaded more than 170 million times.
The series comes from Kilter Films and EPs Nolan and Lisa Joy. Nolan directed the first three episodes. Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner serve as EPs, writers and co-showrunners. Athena Wickham of Kilter Films also executive produces, along with Todd Howard for Bethesda Game Studios and James Altman for Bethesda Softworks.
Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films produce in association with Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks.
Tomorrow night, Amazon Studios is kicking off SXSW with the world premiere of Doug Liman’s Road House at the Paramount Theatre.
That mesmerizing Nolan-Musk sitdown from 2018: