The popular action-adventure game The Last of Us inspired HBO’s television show of the same title, which became an instant hit earlier this year despite sacrificing a lot of action from the video game in favor of offering fans more emotional depth.
More than eight million viewers tuned in to catch the series finale of the drama that followed the journey of a hardened survivor (Pedro Pascal) and a 14-year-old girl (Bella Ramsey) in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombie-like creatures who are infected by a mutated fungus.
In fact, such has been the popularity of the show that HBO ordered a second season just two episodes into the first installment. Yet, a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over the timing of its filming.
Pedro Pascal’s The Last of Us Creator on Season 2 Filming Delays
HBO roped in Craig Mazin, the man behind the brilliant miniseries Chernobyl, to work alongside Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog – and the game’s developer – to produce the video-game-inspired drama. The pair combined to great effect to script Joel Miller and Ellie Williams’ journey across a post-outbreak America, as Pedro Pascal‘s character takes charge of protecting Bella Ramsey’s character, who may be humanity’s last hope.
After securing the green flag to further progress Joel and Ellie’s expedition, Mazin was able to map out all of season 2 and also submit the script to the network for the first episode. However, in the light of the ongoing actors and writers strike in Hollywood, things have stalled. During an interview for Entertainment Weekly‘s The Awardist podcast, the Chernobyl creator said:
“I think it’s becoming essentially a near certainty that we won’t be able to start [filming] when we were hoping to start, which is upsetting. We are all raring to go. This is what we are born to do. This is how we not only choose to live our lives, but I believe [how we] are compelled to live our lives. Otherwise, why the hell would we do this insane job? I can assure you it’s not for money.”
Amid the uncertainty, it’s tough to predict when Season 2 will premiere, but considering the filming of the show is yet to be started, it’s unlikely fans will get to see Pascal playing a smuggler in a Boston quarantine zone before the end of 2024.
Accordingly, there’s also very little in the know with regard to the direction the show will move in. But if it continues to stay faithful to the original source, expect to witness events of The Last of Us Part II, the 2020 sequel game.
The Connection Between The Last of Us Creator and The Last of Us Part II Game
While the show is packed with different connections from The Last of Us game, which is considered one of the most detailed and cinematic video games ever made, the second part of the game incidentally includes an interesting connection with Mazin’s Chernobyl.
The series, which focuses on the suffering faced by the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union due to a nuclear disaster, features two important characters, named Valery Legasov and Boris Shcherbina.
Incidentally, Naughty Dog’s game has a character named Boris Legasov (a combination of the names of the two Chernobyl characters). Boris meets Ellie after becoming infected.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
