Fallout TV Show's First Trailer Has Bobbleheads, Yao Guai, and More References You May Have Missed

Did you spot all these Fallout references in the show's first trailer?

By Tanner Dedmon - March 7, 2024 09:26 am EST

The Fallout TV show from Prime Video finally got its first full trailer today following its teaser trailer which was released back in December to show fans our best look yet at the first live-action adaptation of the acclaimed series. Created by Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the show channels the aesthetic of Fallout with Ghouls, Vault Dwellers, and all manners of mutated creatures to be encountered as Ella Purnell's character Lucy, Walton Goggins' Ghoul character, and others traverse post-apocalyptic Los Angeles.

The first teaser trailer was already packed with moments for fans to pick apart as they identified key parts of the Fallout universe that'd been adapted for live-action, and that was only a snippet of what's to come. As expected, the full trailer released on Thursday contains many, many more moments worth calling out.

Some of those like "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots being played at one point in the trailer are easy to pick out, but others are just as easy to miss. To help make sure nothing slips by Fallout fans eager for the show's release in April, here are some of the best Fallout references we spotted in the Fallout show's first full trailer:

Vault Boy Bobbleheads

We already knew from past discussions about the Fallout show that it would include versions of the Vault Boy with the Vault-Tec mascot even getting his own origin story, so it makes sense that we'd see the character portrayed throughout the world. This first trailer for the Fallout show confirmed that those Vault Boy appearances will include bobbleheads, too.

In the Fallout games, Vault-Tec bobbleheads were pretty much relegated to the Eastern United States, but the show is set in and around Los Angeles. The bobbleheads were exceedingly rare and valuable, though the trailer makes it seem as though they're a bit more common. Perhaps that'll be explained in the TV series, but even if it's not, bobbleheads were an expected reference for Amazon's Fallout, so it makes sense to see them in the show.

Shady Sands

While many people probably started playing Fallout games when Fallout 3 released or sometime afterwards, the first two Fallout games as well as Fallout: New Vegas took place in the West. If you didn't start playing until later in the series, there's a good chance you're unfamiliar with Shady Sands.

In the first Fallout, Shady Sands was a successful settlement that would later grow to become the New California Republic, a faction and often abbreviated as the NCR which should look much more familiar to Fallout players. The Fallout show's trailer incorporates this history by briefly showing a sign advertising the Shady Sands Public Library with more of the remnants of the settlement perhaps being explored in the series.

Stimpaks

In another shot showing a Vault Boy bobblehead seemingly hanging out in a trader's store, we can see a stimpak resting on a counter next to it. While a number of different resources in Fallout games could heal the player, stimpaks were the most recognizable, go-to aid for patching yourself up quickly. It's difficult to tell at some points in the trailer whether characters are injecting themselves with stimpaks or something else, but we can see they're 100% in the show.

Pistols, Lasers, and Dart Guns

Fallout weapons are typically as rough and rudimentary as the world around the people that use them. They're typically not in the best of shape and are often made from scavenged parts, though some laser and plasma-based weapons are used by people with deeper pockets to reaffirm the game's futuristic setting.

Though they're only shown in brief flashes and aren't as recognizable as some weapons like a nuke-launching Fat Man or the flaming Shishkebab, we can see a couple of familiar weapons in the trailer. Walton Goggins, the actor who plays the Ghoul in Fallout, appears to be using some sort of pipe pistol or, if not that weapon exactly, a pistol that's very much made or fixed up with parts at hand.

Later in the trailer, we see a Brotherhood of Steel member holding what's likely a plasma or energy-based rifle given the faction's tendencies towards that type of weapon. Lucy, the Vault Dweller played by Ella Purnell, shoots the Ghoul at one point with what appears to be a Dart Gun, a typically non-lethal weapon in the Fallout series used to incapacitate enemies. And finally, towards the end of the trailer, we see a faction armed with several more traditional weapons, but among them is a woman who's clearly their leader and is outfitted with the unmissable Laser Pistol that's identifiable by its yellow ammo reservoir.

Mr. Handy

Robots in the Fallout games are sometimes more personable and entertaining than the people themselves, and that's especially true for Mr. Handy. This robot model can be seen throughout the Fallout games and is easily identifiable by its spherical body coupled with several eye-like appendages and arms that allow it to perform a variety of tasks.

Unfortunately for Lucy, its task in the Fallout show is harvesting her organs. Robots like Mr. Handy and other models often serve as companions in Fallout games, so perhaps if it's not this particular robot that we see more of, we'll see some of those machines sticking around more often in Fallout.

Dogmeat/CX404

Like the robot companions Fallout players can enlist in their travels, one staple character has been present in most Fallout games: Dogmeat. Dogmeat, as its name suggests, is a very, very good dog who fights for the player and retrieves resources when not in combat. Dogmeat can basically do no wrong in the Fallout games, and like the Vault Boy and Nuka-Cola, has become a staple part of the Fallout universe.

It makes sense then that a dog would be in the Fallout TV show. This dog isn't called "Dogmeat," however, and is instead named "CX404." The dog is a companion of the Ghoul, and it's name will probably get explained in the show, but it's just as likely that someone in the Fallout series will refer to it as "Dogmeat" at some point just to fit that reference in.

Super-Duper Mart

In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, we see the Ghoul sitting on a worn couch watching TV amid a disheveled mess of items. It looks like a whole lot of nothing -- some personal effects, shopping carts, and a bit of food with shelves behind him.

But those shelves, shopping carts, and the hodgepodge nature of all the items may have given away one of the possible settings we'll see in the Fallout show. Those white, empty shelves look a whole lot like ones that players come across in Super-Duper Marts, the grocery stories scattered throughout bigger pre-war settlements in Fallout games. They're typically as rundown as the one presumably shown here, but they often have some resources worth picking through. If it's not called a Super-Duper Mart by name, it's at least reassuring to see the aesthetic preserved in the trailer.

Yao Guai, Mole Rats, and Skunk?

Right towards the end of the trailer, we see a montage of several action-filled scenes that show off a couple of different mutated creatures from the Fallout universe. The most recognizable of those is the bear that's getting punched by a member of the Brotherhood of Steel.

Bears in the Fallout universe have long been mutated to the point that they've been renamed as "Yao Guai." Through games like Fallout: New Vegas, we know these creatures can exist in the Western United States, so it's very likely this is a Yao Guai that's seen briefly here.

Just after the Yao Guai appearance, a huge, pinkish creature with arms emerges from a body of water. This one's a bit tricky to identify since it doesn't look quite like a Gulper nor does it resemble a Mirelurk variant, but what if it's a mutated catfish? Records of one existing in Western United States exist in the Fallout universe with fishermen telling tales of a huge, mutated catfish called "Skunk," so there's certainly precedent for something like that to exist in this show.

One last creature that's towards the end of the trailer is similarly difficult to identify. A brief segment shows a turret shooting at some sort of critter that's plowing through the dust, and from the looks of its seemingly fleshy, hairless skin, it appears we may see mutated mole rats in Fallout, too.

The Pip-Boy

And finally, right there at the end of the trailer, we see the relic from the Fallout universe that needs little introduction: the Pip-Boy. The Pip-Boy in Fallout games is something typically given to Vault Dwellers with protagonists basically always getting one, so it makes sense that Lucy would have one as well. Pip-Boys contain a wealth of information for wearers, and like the Vault-Tec Jumpsuits that Vault inhabitants wear, they're a core part of the Fallout aesthetic.

In past promotions for Fallout including character posters that showed off specific characters, we saw Lucy with a Pip-Boy on her arm, so it's no surprise to see it again. This moment with Lucy wearing it, however, is clearly framed to remind players of their Fallout protagonists. With the Pip-Boy on one arm, she's disheveled and beaten up with patchwork armor she's wearing while quite literally shedding her Vault Dweller identity. The Fallout show was always going to have to overcome the RPG nature of the games where players guide the experience with their own custom-made characters, but this last shot comes across as the show's honest attempt to recreate not just a Fallout story but the Vault Dweller experience of stepping out into the Wasteland with not much more than a Pip-Boy to guide you.