Although the upcoming HBO series The Last of Us focuses on the events of the first video game, some fans may have trouble fighting the urge to imagine how Part 2's existence impacts the show's storytelling. The show runners have been very on the record about this being an adaptation of the first game only, but that doesn't mean that they aren't aware of (and thinking about) where else the story could go in the future.
The Last of Us premiers on HBO on January 15 and players will be able to see how co-creators and executive producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have brought the beloved video game to life with their live action adaptation. Plenty of supporting characters have been revealed in the promos, like Gabriel Luna as Tommy, but so far no characters introduced in Part 2 have been spotted.
Game ZXC recently had a chance to sit down with The Last of Us show runners and talk about developing the series for HBO. During the conversation, Game ZXC took the opportunity to ask if there's any chance characters like a younger Abby might make an appearance during the show's debut season.
Game ZXC: There are some interesting flashbacks used in The Last of Us Part 2 (the game) to show what was happening to Abby and some other characters during the events of the first game. BEcause of the way that the timeline plays out and how we're seeing the events of the first game in the HBO series, is there are chance or were there any discussions or considerations about showing viewers some of those Part 2 events playing out the first season of the show?
Craig: "I'll say this... Without getting into spoilery bits, that one of the things that I had the benefit of that Neil didn't when he made. The Last of Us was that The Last of Us Part 2 and Left Behind existed. I knew more than he did! Obviously he knows all of that now too. But when we created this adaptation we had a fuller picture. There are moments that are there because of what we know. And one of the things that was important to us was to make sure that if we did well enough to earn more time on television and tell more of this story, that where Ellie goes should feel true to where she is now. Even if she's changed and different, you feel like ' yeah, I can see the evolution and why she went there.' That the capacity was always there. So, we certainly had that in mind. No question. But we've been pretty on record about this, this season really does focus on the story of the first game."
It's likely a bit of a relief to some fans that the first season isn't attempting to bite off more than it can chew. Focusing on the events of the first game is a big enough challenge and diving too much further into the franchise lore could overcomplicate things. The idea of future seasons is definitely an exciting prospect though and hopefully there will be enough fans to warrant a follow-up.
Be sure to check back in the coming weeks for lots of coverage of The Last of Us on HBO.
The Last of Us premiers on HBO Sunday, January 15 at 9:00pm ET/PT and will be available to stream in 4K on HBO Max.
