The final moments of Fallout Season 2 pointed a clear compass toward the Rocky Mountains. After finding a postcard from his wife, Barb, The Ghoul is headed for Colorado. This sets up a major new destination for the series, but the show’s creators warn that the path through the Wasteland is never straight.
The Colorado Connection: How the Show Teased the Rocky Mountains
The final episode of Season 2 made the Colorado destination explicit. After searching for his family, Cooper Howard, now known as The Ghoul, discovers their cryogenic chambers are empty. In place of his wife and daughter, he finds a single, telling clue: a postcard. The front reads “Greetings from Colorado,” and on the back, Barb has written, “Colorado was a good idea”.
This moment ties directly back to a flashback earlier in the season. Before the bombs fell, Cooper and his wife Barb discussed escaping their dangerous situation with Vault-Tec. When Barb suggested Bakersfield, Cooper pushed for a place much farther away, saying they should go to Colorado instead. The postcard is Barb’s message confirming she followed through on that old idea.
Beyond the personal quest, Colorado appears to hold a larger significance in the show’s universe. In promotional material released before Season 1, a broadcast from Galaxy News mentioned that the President of the United States had “a mountain in Colorado to go under” to direct world events. This has led to strong speculation that Colorado may serve as a key base of operations for the shadowy and powerful Enclave, the main antagonists emerging in the series.
“We all feel like the joy of a Fallout game… is the question of ‘Well, where is it going to be set?’” said showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “As a show, we would love to also sometimes take our fans to places they know very well, but also to new places.”
What’s Waiting in Colorado? Lore from Games That Never Were
For dedicated fans of the video games, Colorado is a fascinating and mostly unexplored frontier. It has never been the primary setting for a mainline Fallout game. However, its history in the franchise’s development offers intriguing possibilities for the show.
The state was the planned setting for a canceled game project, code-named “Van Buren,” which would have been the original Fallout 3 developed by Black Isle Studios. Key ideas from this project, like competing factions and the battle for Hoover Dam, were later used in Fallout: New Vegas. The show has already shown a willingness to use concepts from the older games, making some wonder if it might resurrect other “Van Buren” ideas.
Colorado also features in Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, a spin-off game whose place in official story canon is unclear. In that game, the location of Vault 0 is in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. Vault 0 was designed to be the central command hub for the entire Vault network, collecting data from other vaults. Given the show’s reveal that the Enclave controlled Vault-Tec, a hidden Enclave base inside Vault 0 would be a logical connection for the series to make.
Not So Fast: The Ghoul’s Long Road and Other Story Threads
While Colorado is the end goal, the creative team behind Fallout is quick to manage expectations about how quickly characters will arrive.
“We didn’t say Colorado exactly, we’re heading in that direction, and there are stops along the way,” explained executive producer Jonathan Nolan.
Showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet echoed this, pointing out the realities of travel in the post-apocalypse. “He has a number of problems… All he’s got right now is Colorado to find who he’s looking for. So, he needs to figure out more specifically where he is going, and that might take him a beat and lead him somewhere else,” she said. She also humorously noted that The Ghoul will likely “get sidetracked by bullsh-t” on his journey.
Furthermore, not every character is packing for the mountains. Lucy and Maximus remain in New Vegas, which is on the brink of a major conflict. The finale saw the New California Republic (NCR) arrive just as Caesar’s Legion, now led by Macaulay Culkin’s character, marches on the city. A three-way struggle for control of New Vegas between the NCR, the Legion, and the digital remains of Robert House is set to be a major focus.
“Something that we’re really excited to delve into as a show next season is… whose version of civilization will it be? Will it be House’s, the Legion’s, or the NCR’s?” Robertson-Dworet said.
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New Factions and Familiar Faces in a New Landscape
Moving to a fresh location allows the show to introduce new stories and potentially new takes on familiar groups. Robertson-Dworet teased that fans might see factions that have migrated to Colorado and evolved in new ways.
The show is also set to expand its bestiary of mutated creatures. “There are so many creatures that exist in the Fallout lore that we’re excited to get to as a show,” the showrunner noted, likely referring to the ongoing mutation of character Thaddeus.
Other major threads from the Season 2 finale that will carry forward include Hank MacLean activating a mind-control chip, wiping his own memory. Also, the shocking reveal that Steph, the Overseer of Vault 32, is actually Hank’s pre-war wife, creating a bizarre familial link to Lucy. Steph was also shown contacting the Enclave and initiating a mysterious “Phase Two” of their plan.
Production Details and What Comes Next
Fallout was officially renewed for a third season in May 2025. According to industry listings, filming is scheduled to begin in May 2026 in Santa Clarita, California, which served as a production base for the previous season.
While an official release date is not set, the pattern between seasons suggests a possible premiere in late 2027. Season 1 debuted in April 2024, and Season 2 followed in December 2025. Director Frederick E.O. Toye, who helmed the Season 2 premiere and finale, is expected to return.
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