Fallout Season 2 brings game-accurate live-action Deathclaws built with five puppeteers and ILM

Deathclaws appear fully in Episode 205 of Fallout Season 2, created on set through large-scale puppetry operated by up to five people and finished with visual effects from ILM.

Deathclaws make their first full live-action appearance in Episode 205 of Fallout Season 2, now streaming on Prime Video. The series is set two centuries after the Great War and continues storylines later than Fallout: New Vegas. Season 2 explores the Deathclaws’ origin as genetically engineered creatures from wartime experiments and shows their effect on New Vegas. Producers combined practical puppetry with visual effects to recreate the creatures faithfully for television. Production details: - Deathclaws were absent from Season 1 and were briefly glimpsed before being fully realized in Episode 205. - The production used a hybrid approach: Legacy built the head, face, claws and other key practical elements while Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) completed the creatures with visual effects. - Legacy and the crew said the Deathclaw puppet can require up to five operators: one person wears the suit, two puppeteer the arms, one controls the neck and head, and one operates the jaw. - Legacy described the puppet as roughly 13 feet long and nine feet tall, including the tail. - Executive producer Jonathan Nolan praised the blend of practical and digital effects, Jonah Lobe (the Fallout 4 designer) posted a positive reaction to the adaptation, and showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet said intelligent Deathclaws were not ruled out for future seasons. Summary: The series aimed for a game-faithful Deathclaw by combining large-scale practical puppetry with ILM visual effects, giving actors a tactile creature to interact with on set. Creators and vendors cited teamwork between Legacy, ILM, and the show’s effects teams as key to the result. Undetermined at this time.