You will have liked it more or less, but The Last of Us series did not leave anyone indifferent. Neither to us, nor to the very Steven Spielberg. The truth is that HBO was right when choosing when and how to do things exactly the same as in the video game, but also in those chapters in which it decided to go it alone or move away from what has already been seen. whatWhat will happen from here?
With a second season announced and two strikes that have paralyzed filming, the outlook is what it is. The good news is that Craig Mazin, the showrunner and co-creator of the adaptation along with the people of Naughty Dog, is more or less clear on how to shape it. What’s more, he is fully aware of the enormous degree of challenge that will be adapting The Last of Us: Part II and even has in mind the right person to give Ellie’s reply.
What Mazin is not so clear about is how the audience will react to what happens in the video game. Not even if the response that the series will have will be the same as the one that the story had on PlayStation consoles.
The causes and consequences of the first season… No spoilers!
Mazin was extremely prudent when talking about future plans for the series with The Hollywood Reporter, and it is not for less given what is going on in Hollywood and all that is at stake by actors and screenwriters. However, one thing is clear: he has faith that viewers will not be indifferent to what may happen and he is counting on that, even if they get angry, in the end they will understand the key moments.
Of course, Mazin is fully aware of two things: his mouth There will be no spoilers from the game itself. until it is inevitable to address them and we must not assume that the same thing that we already saw on consoles will happen.
“I very carefully avoid confirming anything, even indirectly. Anyone who has played the game and then watched the first season knows that sometimes we do exactly what happened to the game and other times we do something very different. We also don’t necessarily do things in the same order or at the same time.
In our first season, we repeatedly did things that could be upsetting. (Mazin alludes to a specific event) People understood from watching the show that it was a story in which people are not safe.
The key here, and what will differentiate The last of us of other fictional content on HBO (or Max) is that the aim is not so much to renew seasons unlimitedly, but rather to see how the format can maximize both the story and its adaptation and the production itself.
If you plan on running a show as long as possible, it’s normal to put plot armor on your main characters until the actors ask for too much money, or their Q scores go down, or the reviews go down, and then you delete. That’s not what we do or what HBO does. So anyone can die at any time, as far as I’m concerned.
However, the key question is not what has already happened in the inaugural season, but rather how do you expect the general public, or those who have only followed the series, to react to what happens in the video game? The Last of Us: Part 2.
As far as backlash, sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between emotion because they care about something and backlash. But neither I nor Neil (Druckman) do things with that in mind. There are also times during the season where we think they’ll probably get mad at us, but then they’ll understand.
The best example is when the characters of Ellie and Joel are shown to have successfully merged. A lot of viewers were like, “Uh, (Ellie) is really annoying.” And I think, “Yes, exactly! She’s annoying and you don’t like her, just like Joel finds her annoying and he doesn’t like her.” Until she does, and now he would kill the world for her. Just like you feel at the end of the game. Because that’s how good Bella is.
To be fair, Mazin’s reaction and uncertainties are quite reasonable: not even Pedro Pascal, who played Joel flawlessly, was convinced that he would hit the spot with fans of the video game. And Bella Ramsey also has her own nerves about the sequel.
How many seasons does it take to count The Last of Us?
During the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Craig Mazin lightly touched on the possibility of the story lasting four seasons. Something like this does not go unnoticed. We know that the creators of the series and PlayStation Productions plan to split the events of The Last of Us Part II in at least two batches of chapters.
However, that does not mean that we will see a total of three seasons of nine episodes each.
We originally pitched to HBO our vision for how this series should be distributed not in one season, but in multiple seasons. What I can confirm is that this story (The Last of Us Part 2) does not fit into a single season.
The plan is relatively simple: in the event that the audience and interest in the second season of the series The Last of Us It is similar to that of the first season, there will be a third in which the events of the video game will be continued. However, that Mazin mentioned in passing the possibility of everything being tied up in four seasons is something that does not go unnoticed.
I was aware that I mentioned that. You never know. They may end up being three or maybe five. But four (seasons) seems like a good number. Some seasons, because of the story we’re telling, will need fewer episodes and some will need more. The good news is that the audience wants more.
Now, the idea is not to make more (episodes) simply to make you happier by announcing how many episodes there will be. And if you don’t like how many episodes are in a season because you want more, that’s fine. But when it’s all said and done, I think you’ll come to understand how and why we’re going to present it that way.
What’s more, I don’t know if any season will have the same number of episodes as the first season. But, whatever it is, the number is not important. The important thing is that when they get to the end of the season, they say, “That was a good season.”
whatWhat does Neil Druckman think? about the criticism that the second season of The last of Us?. Well, in March 2023 and with the first season already released, he was quite concise about it: he doesn’t care.
On the new signings for the second season
Being a dystopia in which humanity has been left at the mercy of the infected, it is no surprise that in the first season of The last of Us really important characters have appeared and disappeared.
With the arrival of the second batch of episodes we will see the arrival of new talents and one in particular, the character of Abbie, about whom we will not qualify too much, will have an essential role in the development of the story. And although he is relatively early to give proper names, given the situation of the actors’ union, Mazin has a body made for the reaction of the people.
He may (have our Abby). But the strike stopped us dead. Things were in the works.
Look, Abby was the first role we wanted to tackle. So far we’ve been pretty good at making big cast announcements and getting people to react with, “Really?” And most likely that will continue to happen.
So people may disagree, but I think we’ve done well so far and the audience seems to feel like we’ve done well and the Academy seems to agree that we’ve done well.
These statements have their own context. Francesca Orsi, from HBO, had planned to offer announcements and statements regarding the future plans of the series of The Last of us. And not only that: in June of this same year, the same actress Bella Ramsey assured that the filming of the second season would begin this year. Something that invited us to think that pre-production was more or less tied up.
However, the other reality is that right now the scriptwriters and actors from the mecca of cinema (and the western industry of productions for the small and big screen) have paralyzed all promotional projects that had not been closed. Some were saved by the minimum or others have readjusted their dates.
So, for all intents and purposes, Mazin may have found Abbie and more of the Season 2 cast, but until the dust settles — barring a leak — it’s going to be hard to put names and faces on them. Even when?
The Last of Us is a key piece for PlayStation Productions. When will there be news?
PlayStation Productions is the Sony Pictures label for film and television productions based on the PlayStation video game sagas. And the truth is that, so far in 2023, we have seen more premieres than new games on PS5. That’s not bad, for the record, but a point about how the brand and characters are expanding beyond consoles. Being the franchises of Naughty Dog, for all intents and purposes, a key piece for the success of the initiative.
The first season of The Last of Us It’s like a video game: it can be enjoyed in its context, offering a self-contained story that, upon reaching its final moment, leaves the viewer with a very special feeling. This is due to the reflection of the most iconic scenes, the acting work of the project and the involvement of the creators of the video game themselves. Fundamental ingredients for the next seasons to work just as well.
In any case, right now Naughty Dog has several projects in parallel. In addition to the new season of the series, we have the online multiplayer of The Last of us and the open door to a sequel to the Uncharted movie. Which is not to say that Playstation Products has put all the eggs in one basket: Netflix will adapt Horizon: Zero Dawn and Amazon God of War. But, once again, we come across the issue of strikes.
In any case, the adaptation of the video game is in the best possible hands: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman himself nailed the adaptation of the original video game, which came bundled with the remake of the classic and has been rewarded with no less than 24 nominations for the Emmys to be held in 2024. In case Hollywood’s problems are resolved, of course.
For now, our attention is focused on two very specific days: a Gamescom 2023, in which all hopes are focused on the Opening Night, and the traditional The Last of Us Day which is celebrated every September 26. In both cases, fairly close dates.
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