As the popular video game adaptation series “The Last of Us” gears up for its season two premiere, here are __ things we learned from the press conference with the cast and creators of the show. In attendance were Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal, Kaitlyn Dever, Diego Luna, Isabela Merced, and Young Mazino.
“The Last of Us” follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they navigate through a post-apocalyptic world due to the Cordysep infection. Ellie, who is immune to the disease, would later on be prepped for surgery in hopes of finding a cure. Fearing losing her forever, Joel interrupts the surgery, killing the surgeon and ultimately lying to Ellie that the Fireflies had failed to develop a cure.
Season 2 premieres on Max on April 13 at 9 pm.
1. Kaitlyn Dever Is A Huge Fan of the Video Game
Dever was originally tapped to play Ellie when “The Last of Us” movie was in development years ago. The actress had met Neil Druckmann and even participated in table reads. However, the film didn’t pan out. Fast-forward to 10 years later, Dever will portray Abby in the upcoming season. The actress is a huge fan of the video game and played it with her dad.
Kaitlyn Dever: I was a fan of the game. I played – it was like a real bonding moment for me and my dad playing it together. And to have it come back around, what, like ten plus years later, it really felt like, you know, something I would always thought about, like, I just admired this story so much and what you did. And I, when it did come back around, yeah, it felt surreal because it really kind of felt like; oh, well, things that are meant to be in your life will happen if they’re supposed to. And it just felt right. Abby felt right. It was very cool.
2. Neil Druckman On Changing Certain Timelines From the Video Game
In the video game, players play as Abby but aren’t given any of her backstory. In the upcoming season, it quickly established that Abby is tied to the Fireflies. Creator Neil Druckmann discusses the reasoning behind this.
Neil Druckmann: There are two reasons why we change certain context or move certain things up in the
story. One of which, in the game, you play as Abby, so you immediately form an empathic connection with her because you’re surviving as her. You’re running through the snow, you’re fighting the infected, and we can withhold certain things and make it a mystery that will be revealed later in the story. We couldn’t do that in the show because you’re not playing as her, so we need other tools. And that context gave us that shortcut. Something similar happened in season one when, you know the game, one starts with you playing as Sarah, and we didn’t have to do a lot of heavy lifting for you to care about Sarah, because you’re playing as her, you’re experiencing the outbreak as her. In the show, we had to spend quite a bit of time to achieve something similar. So that was one reason. Another reason is, you know, where that revelation happens in the game. If we were to stick to a very similar timeline, viewers would have to wait a very, very long time to get that context. You would probably get spoiled to them between seasons, and we didn’t want that. So, it felt appropriate for those reasons to move that up and give viewers that context right off the bat.
3. Pedro Pascal and Diego Luna Rearranged the Script for One of the Scenes
When Joel and Tommy reunite in season one, they have an emotional conversation at the commune’s bar over their painful history while trying to survive the outbreak. During rehearsal, Pascal and Luna ended up changing the script, sort of.
Craig Mazin: …These guys took that scene and came back and they’re like, look,
we’ve taken this chunk. We moved here, took this chunk and moved it here. And I read
and I was like, fuck me, that’s so much better. And you know, and I would have told you if
I’d thought not. I just, but that’s the level of attention and care, like, they’re not just fucking
around. They, and that, that scene is a beautiful scene. That’s a beautiful moment
between the two of you. I love that scene. And then the hurt and then and what it leads
to…
Gabriel Luna recalls how it happened.
Gabriel Luna: Well, you sent me that piece by – the Blood Meridian piece – so we could work on just the accent. And we both spent time in Texas. I grew up in Austin. You spent time San Antonio. So, we had that to work on, I think. But I think that the time that you and I had with Jazz Miller rehearsing the scene in the bar was also a very strong bonding element. And you and I kind of sat there and took Craig’s words. We didn’t change a single word, we promise, but we just re-jumbled the whole thing.
4. Showrunners Teases An Emotional Ending In the Final Episode
When asked if there were any specific scenes they were excited to film, show creator Craig Mazin eludes to a particular moment in the final episode with Bella Ramsey.
Craig Mazin: I’ll kind of pull Bella in on this one. There, I don’t want to say what it is, but there was a scene in the in the final episode of the season
Bella Ramsey:I know the one.
CM: It’s and it’s, it’s quite impactful in the game, but there was this kind of evolution of it as we, as we put it on film, that kind of blows me away. And those moments are very exciting. But I have to admit, there’s also I mean, this is not a spoiler. It’s in the trailer. You see Pedro and Bella both by the space capsule in the museum and that scene is the first thing that Neil ever showed me from The Last of Us Part Two. It’s beautiful and watching them kind of inhabit that and make it their own was pretty
spectacular.
BR: I agree with that. Yeah, the later episode stuff. Some, yeah,
some of the stuff in the last episode, particularly the last two were my favorite, favorite,
favorite things to film, and also, I think to hopefully to watch. [to Craig and Neil] I’m sure
you’ve done a great job.
Who’s In Season 2 of “The Last of Us”?
Season two returning cast includes Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, and Rutina Wesley as Maria. Previously announced new cast includes Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina, Young Mazino as Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, Danny Ramirez as Manny, and Jeffrey Wright as Isaac. Catherine O’Hara also guest stars as Gail.
The Last of Us is based on the acclaimed video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation® consoles, is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is also executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Evan Wells; with writer/co-executive producer Halley Gross. Production companies: PlayStation Productions, Word Games, Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.
