HBO’s “The Last of Us” Series Will Deviate From the First Game

Soz fam, don't shoot the messenger.

Brace yourselves The Last of Us fans, because the mastermind behind the post-apocalyptic game Neil Druckmann has revealed more details for the upcoming HBO television adaptation of the series.

The series will cover the events from the first game, with the possibility of showrunners Craig Mavin and Druckmann adding plotlines from The Last of Us Part II.

Naturally, one of the biggest questions surrounding the show is how closely the plot will follow the premise of the first game.

Well, wonder no more.

Speaking with IGN at the SXSW 2021, the director revealed that while HBO are lifting dialogue straight from the game, there will be times when the show will go in a completely different direction.

“Things sometimes stay pretty close. It’s funny to see my dialogue there from the games in HBO scripts. And sometimes they deviate greatly to much better effect because we are dealing with a different medium,” he said.

For Druckmann and HBO “the philosophical underpinnings of the story” are the important things to get right in the script.

“As far as the superficial things, like should [a character] wear the same plaid shirt or the same red shirt? That’s way less important to us than getting the core of who these people are and the core of their journey," Druckmann said.

Damn, I was really looking forward to seeing Ellie's exact red shirt from the game. 

i really really don’t want to watch the HBO adaptation of the last of us (have those games not put me through enough??) but i also don’t know that i’m going to be able to resist... my fragile heart can’t take this i still cry over the second game like minimum once a week

— mina!!! (@goatglands) March 21, 2021

What is interesting is Druckmann disclosing that there will be less violence in the HBO show.

“In the game…you have to have more violence and more spectacle to some degree than you would need on a TV show because you don’t need to train people how to use a gun.”

According to him, this choice for less violence was also driven by HBO themselves who encouraged the Naughty Dog team to focus more on character development.

“HBO’s been great in pushing us to move away from hardcore action and focus more on the drama of the character,” said the director.

The Last of Us was crazy brutal. I can see why HBO wanted to make it a show lol

— Christopher Alan McDaniel (@McDurpy) March 18, 2021

For all you purists out there fretting that HBO are butchering your beloved The Last of Us, chill. 

“Some of my favourite episodes so far have deviated greatly from the story and I can’t wait for people to see them,” Druckmann reassured fans.

Finally, how about a sneak preview into what the zombie-fied Clickers from the game will look like?

“I just saw the first prosthetic test for the Clicker and it’s awesome. It’s so rad to see this thing come to physical life,” an excited Druckmann said.

It's confirmed; Clickers on The Last of Us HBO show will be practical!

— Cybotico (@cybotico) March 21, 2021

Not gonna lie, I’m stoked they are using prosthetics instead of CGI for the Clickers. Last thing we need is another CGI fail like The Hobbit. I’ve still not forgiven Peter Jackson for that.

The Last of Us series will star Pedro Pascal from The Mandalorian as Joel, and Game of Thrones' Bella Ramsay as Ellie. 

The Last of Us Part II is now available on PS4. We'll keep you updated as to when the series will be released and how you can watch it down under.

Header Image: PlayStation