Fallout Reportedly Adds Fan-Favorite MCU Actor to Season 2 Cast

Kumail Nanjiani has reportedly joined the cast of Fallout Season 2 in an undisclosed role. The news broke on Wednesday via The InSneider newsletter, and has not been confirmed yet by Amazon or other news outlets. Nanjiani played Kingo in the MCU’s Eternals, but fans of geek culture likely recognize him from many other places — including his long live podcasts hosted in a comic book shop called Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles, California. Fallout Season 2 was scheduled to begin filming in January but was delayed by the wildfires in L.A., so it’s unclear if and when it will be rescheduled.

Nanjiani’s role in Fallout has not been revealed yet, and there is some speculation that he will play someone brand new to the franchise. He is the second new cast member added to this season along with Macauley Culkin. Culkin’s role has not been specified yet either, but according to Games Radar he is playing a “crazy genius-type character.”

Nanjiani kicked off his career as a stand-up comedian and made many early connections through podcasts, with a whole lineup recorded in front of a live audience at Meltdown Comics throughout the 2010s. That included the video game podcast The Indoor Kids, which should prove beyond a doubt that he has the nerd cred required for the Fallout adaptation.

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On TV, Nanjiani had a guest starring role on HBO’s Veep before taking a starring role in the network’s comedy Silicon Valley, where he played Dinesh. He is also well known for the romantic comedy The Big Sick, which is loosely based on his real-life relationship with his wife, screenwriter Emily V. Gordon. They co-wrote the movie together and Nanjiani co-starred with Zoe Kazan.

Nanjiani made his MCU debut in 2021 in Eternals, which is generally considered one of the weaker entries in the franchise. In July of 2024, producer Kevin Feige confirmed that there is no sequel to Eternals in development at this time. However, Nanjiani did reprise his role as Kingo in What If…? Season 3, in the episode “What If… Agatha Went to Hollywood?”

Fallout is based on a series of RPGs by Bethesda Game Studios by the same name. It premiered on Prime Video in April of 2024 and has been generally well-received by fans and critics. The show is streaming there now. It’s unclear when the second season will begin filming or when it might premiere.