HBO's The Last of Us will premiere at the end of next week so it's not long to go now before viewers will get to see the television debut of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie respectively. It's a big budget show so HBO has a lot riding on its success, while the merits of video game adaptations will again be up for debate.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann discussed the origins of the show, how the pair first met, and developed the adaptation. The in-depth article details Mazin's rise from screenwriter to showrunner, and features interviews with Pascal and Ramsey as well. In the final section of the article, there are hints of what viewers could expect of The Last of Us' season 2.
While the first season will track roughly the events of the first game, there are surprises in store. What, you didn't think the TV show would be a slavish retelling of the game, did you? According to THR, there are some "radical changes" to the game's story that will "shock and perhaps challenge fans".
However, overall the series is faithful to the game and fans can expect to see many of the scenes, characters, dialogue, and settings that were in the game rendered pretty accurately in the show. Meanwhile, the debut season of HBO's The Last of Us should cover the whole of The Last of Us game.
The Hollywood Reporter suggested that the second season will cover the story set out in The Last of Us Part 2, with Druckmann and Mazin hinting, without overtly saying, that the show's second season will cover the "table-flipping narrative of Naughty Dog’s bold Part II sequel". The Last of Us Part 2 has been divisive among players, with many disliking the direction that Druckmann decided to take, but it seemed to set a new bar for storytelling in video games, so it is ripe material for adaptation.
In addition, Mazin and Druckmann reiterated their fondness for endings so don't expect The Last of Us series to go on forever and ever like The Walking Dead seemed to do, but will instead find a natural end that shouldn't go far beyond the timeline of the games. About the games, Druckmann also hinted at a potential Part 3. While neither confirming or denying that a new entry in the game series is coming, Druckmann dropped a cryptic, "I think there's more story to tell".
Well, there you have it, expect a big shake up for things in season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us per the events of Part 2. Meanwhile the first season starts airing on January 15. In other news, Naughty Dog has said that it wanted to do the opposite of Resident Evil with The Last of Us.