One of the well-known factions from Fallout: New Vegas isn't looking too good in new promotional posters for Season 2 of the TV adaptation. Prime Video's Fallout show is set in a different period than any of Bethesda's games, but Season 2 will take the action to one iconic location from the franchise: New Vegas. The status of New Vegas is something fans of the game are eager to see in the new season, particularly as it will reveal what happened to the dystopian city after the game's events.
New marketing materials for Fallout Season 2 have highlighted several major characters and groups present in the new season, and some will be familiar to those who have played Fallout: New Vegas. One such group is the Kings, a minor faction players encounter in Freeside, on the outskirts of the Strip. The Kings are distinctive for their greaser-style outfits and hairstyles, which they wear in tribute to Elvis Presley after discovering the King's School of Impersonation, which existed to teach people how to portray the famed rock star.
Sitting outside of the New California Republic and Mr House's forces, the Kings are one of the notable outlaw groups fighting for dominance in New Vegas. However, the Kings don't appear to be doing so hot when it comes to their portrayal in the TV series (which is set 15 years after the events of Fallout: New Vegas).
Seen in a character poster with Walton Goggins' Ghoul, the Kings are shown wearing their distinctive Elvis-inspired jackets and hairstyles, but their faces are distinctly worse for wear. With their sunken eyes and rotting skin, it appears the Kings have all devolved into feral ghouls in the past decade, which also aligns with their place on the Ghoul's character poster.
Fans had speculated that the Kings might be "ghoulified" in the new show after Ella Purnell's Lucy was shown shooting an incoming attacker in a greaser-style outfit, and their tragic fate seems to have now been confirmed via this poster.
Prime Video's Fallout series adapts the world of Bethesda's post-apocalyptic games, with a set of new characters portrayed by Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, Aaron Moten, and Kyle MacLachlan. After learning of her father's deception in Season 1, Season 2 of Fallout follows Lucy and the Ghoul as they track him down to New Vegas. The second season will be released in weekly instalments beginning on December 17, 2025.
What Happened To the Kings in Fallout?
Fallout: New Vegas' RPG elements allow for multiple endings, each leading to a different direction for the Kings. In some endings, the Kings are disbanded and killed; in others, they help to revolutionise the state of Freeside or form alliances with other factions in town.
The Fallout TV show appears to be going with its own interpretation of events for the Kings, at least judging by this poster. In none of the possible endings do the Kings become ghouls, which suggests that something has happened in New Vegas in the time since the game's ending to turn them such.
Ghouls in Fallout are humans who have survived intense exposure to radiation. Some, like Goggins' Ghoul, can maintain their state of mind, while others tip over into madness and become feral Ghouls. It's unclear what ghoul state the group will be in in Fallout Season 2, but the small glimpse of the Kings in the trailer suggests that at least some of them have moved into feral ghoul territory.
How the Kings became ghouls and what kind of radiation event may have impacted them in New Vegas remains a mystery for now, but will no doubt be explained during Fallout Season 2.
