Shack Chat: What Bethesda Softworks IP should get a TV adaptation next?

Fallout premiered on Prime Video this week. Many are singing its praises, including the Shacknews staff. In fact, it's been such a fun ride that we started wondering what else Bethesda should consider making into a TV show. We're rummaging through the Bethesda IP catalog and giving you our best picks for this week's Shack Chat.

Question: What Bethesda Softworks IP should get a TV adaptation next?

Hi-Fi Rush - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Fallout Survivor

Bethesda has a lot of IPs to work with. I could have gone from the dark and gritty like Doom, to the imaginative worlds of The Elder Scrolls, or even to something random like Rage. What all of those properties have in common is that they're these gritty, hyper-realistic worlds. I want something that's a little more colorful.

Part of why people like Hi-Fi Rush so much was because it was something genuinely different. It was bright, colorful, and fun. Plus, it rocked. It's unlike anything Bethesda's put out there and I sure bet it would be a challenge to make a TV show out of this. I'd love to see them try.

Quake - TJ Denzer, Senior News Editor

Remember when they made a Doom movie and how terrible it was? I do. But there was a very specific kind of silly charm to it as well. In any case, you can’t tell me that Doom deserves a movie, but Quake doesn’t. The latter is also a massive part of FPS history and has its own over-the-top goodness that I feel directors, actors, writers, and especially effects specialists could have a blast with. What would a Rocket Jump look like on the silver screen? Would they do the creatures with practical effects or CGI? Would Nine Inch Nails and/or Trent Reznor come back to supply the music? Who would play the Ranger? These are all questions for which I need answers.

Vin Diesel. Give me Vin Diesel as the Ranger.

Wolfenstein - Asif Khan, Shacknews CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is about to drop, and it’s got some alt-right people pretty pissed off

VICE News Tonight, 7:30 on @HBO pic.twitter.com/lDPiqdmwnE

— VICE News (@VICENews) October 27, 2017

Bethesda and MachineGames have done a pretty outstanding job with reviving the Wolfenstein franchise, and it would be pretty neat to see that world adapted for TV or streaming. The alternate future in The New Colossus could be some interesting fodder for the writers. Seeing a show based on an America where the Nazis won might hit a little too close to home in the 2024 election year, but I would be down.

Prey - Bill Lavoy, Revision Zero Enthusiast

After considering both Dishonored and Wolfenstein, I’m going with Prey. Dishonored would be too similar to other media that focuses on political intrigue, and Wolfenstein wouldn’t have a great shot at capturing the vibe of the games. Prey, however, would be worth checking out.

From the moment I stepped foot on Talos I in Prey, I wanted to know more about the world and what got us to that point. There was so much mystery about the station and the Typhon enemy. We’re talking about an alien force that can shapeshift, use psychic powers, and is as creepy as it is deadly. Everything about Prey would make it a wonderful sci-fi adaptation if handled with care.

Doom - Sam Chandler, Rip and Tear

The Doom franchise needs another shot at film and television. I don’t think it’s had its fair shake at presenting its gnarled and brutal world to a wider audience. You could go one of two ways with this, give it the George Miller Mad Max Fury Road treatment of minimal story but maximum action or lean into the human nature of Doom and show us what it’s like being a normal person in this hellworld.

Alternatively, give us a mixture. Give us the origin story of Doom Slayer. How did he wind up sealed away in that box? Show us his might and power contrasted against feeble humans. I want to see him shred through demons on a big screen.

Deathloop - Dennis White Jr., Social Media Champ

This was a hard one because I would love to see more sci-fi projects with quality story elements like Prey get greenlit. That said, I think the opportunity to create something really fun and unique is definitely there when it comes to Deathloop. With the success of films like Knives Out, I think that a quirky, snappy script with a director like Rian Johnson as showrunner and a talented cast would really bring the world of a game like Deathloop to life. There’s elements of the loop that could be played with throughout the show with opportunity for the showrunners to leave easter eggs in different scenes as they reoccur. A mixture of humor, action, suspense, and mystery could really keep the audience guessing with the right charismatic stars at the center of it all.

This is definitely a project that would need two strong Black leads for the roles of Colt Vahn & Julianna Blake. My top pick for Colt would be Idris Elba. He can still get in those action scenes and clearly has the chops to carry this show on his back and he’s always got that cool factor when it comes to making an outfit look great. For Julianna, my Top 3 are Zazie Beetz (who clearly already has some assassin experience as Domino in Deadpool 2), Emmy Raver-Lampman (from Umbrella Academy), or a longshot like Zendaya. If Amazon spent the money though, it would be a great way to get Zendaya out of the Euphoria high school roles she’s recently spoken a lot about. She’s got action experience with the Dune franchise now and would kill it with the different looks on the show. Yes, there would be PLENTY of opportunity for incredible looking fashion and I think that would also be a big reason for some of the show’s potential success. People don’t show enough love to good set design and wardrobes when it comes to creating an immersive experience in film & TV projects.

Alright, I think I’ve painted a thorough enough picture of where things could go with this project. Hope some of you agree!

The Elder Scrolls - Donovan Erskine, Whiterun resident

Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one. An Elder Scrolls series makes too much sense. Expansive fantasy epics have already proven to be a gold mine for good television, and the Elder Scrolls universe is packed with interesting stories to adapt and locations to explore. Skyrim is probably the easiest answer, but Oblivion and Morrowind are also excellent options for adaptation. Having seen the Fallout series, I’d love to see Bethesda team up with Kilter Films and Prime Video again for their next thing. You could make seven seasons of an Elder Scrolls TV show, and I’ll eat it up.

Dishonored- Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo show host

The Dishonored franchise is a series that I think would work as a television series. It would be interesting to see a series that could have both future ideas and ancient/historical settings. Seeing the characters be put in situations where they have to decide to kill someone or use stealth/different methods to get something done. I always liked the different abilities in the Dishonored series and it would be neat to see them brought to a TV show. If there was going to the a TV series, I think the second Dishonored game would work better for TV. Having the main character lose their royalty and kicked to the shadows sounds like it would work for TV. Having a main character, like Emily, use future weapons and ideas as well as psychic powers could be neat. I would have to say the Dishonored series would work as a TV show.

Those are our picks. What Bethesda game or series would you like to see adapted for TV? Give us your answers below. Be sure to also check out our Fallout Season 1 review.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.