HBO’s The Last of Us captured national and global attention from its premiere week. As a result, its viewership ratings skyrocketed one week after the other. The story of Joel (Pedro Pascal) taking Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to a secret organization so that they can prepare a vaccine from her blood fascinated everyone.
The show, which is adapted from the game of the same name, has been renewed for season 2. But fans of the show and game are worried. Since season 1 adapted the first game, it’s expected that season 2 will translate the second one to live-action. But there’s a problem. Joel suffers a horrible fate in the game. However, Pedro Pascal isn’t worried about it at all.
Pedro Pascal Is All For Game-To-Show Accuracy
The Last of Us became a topic of water cooler conversation everywhere because it was different from the usual post-apocalyptic shows and movies. It allowed viewers to experience the emotional bond between Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie Williams. When Joel finally accepted Ellie as his surrogate daughter, fans were relieved.
Everyone loved seeing the story of a grumpy man finding happiness by becoming a dad in season 1. But that happiness will be cut short if season 2 of The Last of Us adapts the second game. After all, at the beginning of the game, Joel gets killed off and then Ellie spends the rest of the game trying to get revenge. Fans of Pascal obviously don’t want him to die. But what does the actor think of this possible character arc?
In an interview with Esquire, Pedro Pascal revealed that even though he hasn’t played the games, he knows what happens to his character. But The Mandalorian actor said that he would want the makers to stay faithful to the game. He said,
“It wouldn’t make sense to follow the first game so faithfully only to stray severely from the path. So, yeah, that’s my honest answer.”
Pascal doesn’t know what the writers are planning. As for Bella Ramsey, she feels the same as the fans. She said, “If that does take place in the show. I don’t know that I’m emotionally ready for it.” But what about the showrunners?
The Last Of Us Showrunner Isn’t Afraid Of Killing Characters
The co-showrunner of The Last of Us, Craig Mazin isn’t afraid of ending the tenure of fan-favorite characters. However, he also doesn’t feel duty-bound to do what’s written in the source material. Mazin said,
“This should be fairly obvious to anyone by now, but I don’t fear killing characters. But the important thing to note is that neither Neil [Druckmann, who co-created and exec-produces the series with Mazin] nor I feel constrained by the source material.”
Several film insiders have hinted that Joel’s fate might be changed in season 2. No matter what happens, Mazin praised Pedro Pascal for portraying the character with the kind of balance between toughness and softness he deserved. The showrunner said,
“It was about finding that vulnerability in Joel, to rely on the fact that the natural tough-guy-ness was there but not to lean too hard into it. Pedro has this likability, but he also has this other thing where he can very successfully play tough, tough men who do bad, bad things.”
Season 2 of The Last of Us is a long way off. Many predict that we won’t see it before late 2024 or early 2025. As such, that’s a long time for fans to get ready for whatever fate awaits Pedro Pascal’s Joel.
The Last of Us season 1 is streaming on HBO Max.
Source: Esquire
