How ‘Fallout’s Aaron Moten Influenced Maximus’s Approach to the Wasteland

The big picture

• Aaron Moten trusted
  Negative consequence
  the creators to do justice to his character Maximus, although he was not afraid to intervene with a joke or a suggestion if something seemed wrong.
• Despite the chaos in the wasteland, Moten believes Maximus subverts expectations by realistically handling the trials he faces.
• Season 2 will see Maximus and the rest evolve further after the climactic battle at the Griffith Observatory.

Prime Video struck gold earlier this year with Negative consequence, a video game adaptation that won rave reviews from fans of the franchise and newcomers to the wasteland alike. Part of that praise is due to three central characters that audiences follow throughout the show: Lucy (Ella Purnell), The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), and Maximus (Aaron Moten). All three represent different facets of the chaotic and violent world of Bethesda and Interplay, from a newly arrived vault dweller entering the desert for the first time to a defector from the Brotherhood of Steel. For the latter, Moten was also involved in defining his character's approach to the wasteland.

In an interview with Deadline alongside the executive producer and director Jonathan NolanMoten was asked if he was very hands-on in shaping Maximus or if he was happy to let the showrunners Graham Wagner i Geneva Robertson-Dworet work its magic For the most part, he relied heavily on the duo and the rest of the writers' room to handle his character gracefully, given the work they'd done to capture the tone of Negative consequence. Both also came in with a wealth of experience, with Wagner as their regular writer Portlandia and Robertson-Dworet co-author Captain Marvel. That said, Moten wasn't afraid to offer suggestions, whether it was for a joke or something he feels is incongruous with the way Maximus acts throughout the series.

“Every time I come up with a suggestion, it's a joke. For me, really honoring what this is, which is, I think, a very special group of people, and what Graham and Geneva are doing in the writers' room is It's very different, I want the same feeling I had when I watched the first three scripts… even before I did a deep dive.
Negative consequence
it was, I mean, it was, 'Who came up with that? How are they writing this? Learning later that this is the tone of
Negative consequence
. you know what But they really seemed to have their fingers on the pulse of this thing. [I’m] really trusting that if there's ever something that feels weird to me, maybe I'd ask them more questions about it, because I really like the material they're coming out with.”

Moten helped subvert expectations with Maximus

Maximus begins his journey to Negative consequence at a training camp for Brotherhood of Steel recruits before taking over his friend Dane's (Xelia Mendes-Jones) place as the squire of the knight Titus (Michael Rapaport) in the wasteland. Ultimately, his situation leads him to Lucy and to a different mindset than simply joining the dogmatic faction that worships technology. However, one of the things Moten enjoys most about his character is how realistic Maximus is for someone who exists in this crazy, hyper-violent world. How he handles Titus' oppression, the horrors of the wasteland, and the power trip of wearing his power armor feels natural to him and are aspects of his character that he worked with the showrunners to subvert expectations.

“I think we spend a lot of time seeing stories where people in Maximus' position are forced to be, I think, quite stoic, quite tough. It's been a joy, a thrill for me, to play someone who I find very, very realistic. .He's so scared of the thing, even if the suit forces him to do it, but he won't do it without warning, like, “Hey, like you don't want the armor.” It always feels real And of course also Graham and Geneva, speaking of the costume, we spend time subverting things on the show in such an exciting way.

2nd season of Negative consequence will see Maximus deal with the aftermath of the battle at the Griffith Observatory, as the Brotherhood believes he killed Lee Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury). Now he is ready to become a knight and the sword of the elder Quintus (Michael Christopher) in his plans to form a new, stronger Brotherhood, he is no longer satisfied with what would have been a great honor for the young recruit at the start of Season 1. Although he has already changed a lot from where he started , Moten finds the process. of Maximus and the rest of the cast further evolving to suit the wasteland in exciting seasons ahead. “The characters will continue to develop in ways that we may not recognize in the future, and I think it's going to be exciting to keep changing and growing and developing.”

Stay tuned here at Collider for more updates on the status of Negative consequence Season 2. Right now, all episodes are available to stream exclusively on Prime Video.

Watch on Prime Video