Though there were some changes, most notably a cutting back of the action and scale, the first season of HBO’s “The Last of Us” was mostly a faithful screen adaptation of the original PlayStation game.
With the series renewed for a second season, we know showrunners Craig Mazan and Neil Druckmann intend to adapt a good portion of “The Last of Us Part II” game – and with that comes a much more complicated structure to the narrative with shifting points of view, flashbacks and some major twists.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “THE LAST OF US” S2, “THE LAST OF US PART II”
Now the creative team has spoken with Esquire about the elephant in the room regarding the second season – namely how much involvement Pedro Pascal will have as Joel.
In the game’s opening act, Joel is brutally murdered. That event kicks off the narrative of the second game and whilst Joel does appear later in flashback sequences, he’s only a supporting player in the title.
Given the obvious love for Pedro Pascal in the role, will the showrunners adjust to keep him around for longer? Mazin says nothing is off the table when it comes to Joel:
“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 nor I feel constrained by the source material.”
Pascal himself hasn’t played the game or watched the scene in question but says he’s well aware of it and is unsure of the plan for his character: “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.”
Co-star Bella Ramsey adds: “If that does take place in the show, I don’t know that I’m emotionally ready for it.”
END SPOILERS
How it will play out is anyone’s guess right now, and we’ll be waiting a while as filming on the second season isn’t expected to begin until the end of this year. With shooting taking up to a year, an airing around the end of 2024 or early 2025 airing is likely.
The show enjoyed a highly successful debut season that, by the end of its run, overtook “House of the Dragon” to become HBO’s most successful series in years.
The series launches on digital platforms like iTunes, Amazon and Vudu today.
