Mass Effect fans want a series just like Fallout
It's 2024, and we can barely move for video game adaptations. The small and silver screen are packed with everything from Mario to The Last of Us, Five Nights at Freddy's to Halo. There's especially been a resurgence in live-action TV series, and proving its haters wrong, Amazon's Fallout series is all anyone's talking about right now.
Westworld showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have brought the desolate Wasteland of Bethesda's Fallout series to life, but instead of being a direct adaptation, it's been pitched as its own Fallout 5 - taking place after the games. Now, gamers want the Mass Effect series to follow in Fallout's footsteps.
Mass Effect deserves its own Fallout-inspired series
While we've heard about Amazon releasing a live-action Mass Effect series as far back as 2021, there's been no movement on the rumours since. The Witcher's Henry Cavill has teased its potential, while former BioWare writer David Gaider has called the idea "cringe."
Over on Reddit, fans have speculated how a Mass Effect series could work, saying it should emulate Fallout's formula by telling a story set in this world without being a straight-up adaptation. Pointing out how Mass Effect was a hit because we made decisions for Shepard, the OP suggests a new protagonist akin to Fallout's Lucy (Ella Purnell).
One supporter said, "I know I'll be disappointed if they went with a male Shepard since that's never been the Mass Effect I've played. It's really better to create a original story with whole new characters." Another added, "They should focus on new characters and a new story. Mass Effect has such a rich universe it can be about anyone."
A third said, "Fallout, arcane, and Edgerunners did so well because they were original stories using original characters set in the same universe they’re adapted from...If you look at shows like the Witcher, Halo, and TLOU, they just didn’t do well cause they changed so much about everything."
Someone else concluded, "Not the mainline story. You'd p*ss off the fanbase. The reason Fallout TV show worked so good was because none of the games are linear and take place in different areas and timelines. They took advantage of the resources from the mainline games and did the best job possible."
Not every game needs a live-action adaptation
Click to enlargeUnfortunately, for every The Last of Us or Fallout, there are middling adaptations like Sony's Uncharted or Monster Hunter movies. Not that there's anything fundamentally wrong with them, but most agree they're perfectly average outings that fail to capture the magic of the games.
We aren't alone in our musings, with Bethesda's Todd Howard downplaying the idea of a live-action series based on The Elder Scrolls. Despite the constant rumours of a Call of Duty movie, there's a reason it's never happened. Rockstar Games has also distanced itself from the idea of a GTA movie because the IP is simply too big.
You only have to look at the struggles to get Resident Evil back into live-action after the Milla Jovovich-led movies, while Paramount's Halo has only really started to find its feet in Season 2. Similarly, there are plenty of critics of Eli Roth's upcoming Borderlands movie.
While we're excited to see where Fallout goes in the inevitable Season 2 - and The Last of Us sketches out a rough plan of four seasons - it's all a case of knowing to quit while you're ahead. A Mass Effect adaptation seems inevitable, and if it carves its own legacy, we're more than happy to blast off to the krogan homeworld of Tuchanka.
