The Making of 'The Last of Us': A Closer Look Behind the Scenes

25.02.2023 - 16:55

The highly-anticipated 'The Last of Us' series has recently premiered on HBO, capturing the attention of both gaming fans and critics alike. The show has quickly climbed to the top spots on IMDb, sparking many questions and speculations from viewers. Fortunately, director Neil Druckmann has recently addressed some of these mysteries in a revealing new interview. In this article, we'll delve into the details of what the director had to say, shedding light on some of the biggest questions surrounding 'The Last of Us' series!

Spoiler alert!

The Last of Us series has managed to win the acclaim of viewers and critics since its release.

The series, which also became very popular all around the world, was also talked about a lot both with its fiction and its adherence to the script of the original game. Let's see what happened in the background of this series👇

1. Pedro Pascal, who plays the character of Joel, accepted the role as soon as the script was sent. After a small meeting with Neil, one of the team employees, this role became almost inevitable for him.

'We've been thinking of Pedro for this role for a while. If we had chosen someone else, we might not have been able to reflect the durability of the original Joel character. Pedro is not very tough in everyday life, but when he gets into the role, he can capture that hardness. When we looked into Pedro's eyes, we saw a tortured soul. That's why we can say that we chose him.''

2. At the same time, Neil watched more than a hundred candidates to choose the actress to portray the character of Ellie. But according to Neil, Bella Ramsey does not just portray the character of Ellie, but she becomes the character of Ellie herself!

'We needed someone who could portray the 14-year-old character. It's hard to find someone who is both a child and an actor. Besides that, we also needed someone who was repulsive and had the potential for violence. Bella, on the other hand, seemed to have all of these characteristics.''

3. The physical characteristics of the actors portraying the characters in the game and the actors in the series do not coincide.

'For example, Ashley Johnson, who played the character Ellie in the game, was 27 years old. Troy Baker, who also played Neil, was also long, thin and had gray hair. But the important thing was to be able to really feel that character, rather than the resemblance.''

4. Adapting the long and boring scenes in the game to the series was one of the elements that made this process difficult.

'We said put yourself in the place of the character. Accompanying the character AL, Ellie had to constantly react logically and consistently to the decisions of the characters around her. Although this was a long process, the players were able to form a serious bond with the characters. In this way, we have revised the 'mechanical' part of the game by taking everything into account when moving it to the screens.''

5. Of course, it wasn't easy to bring a legendary game to the screens! There are also stories about the characters' past.

Even the characters who are seen in the game for a short time have been studied in detail and all of them have been written separate stories.

6. Some of the 'impossible' situations in the game have been adapted to the series and made scientifically consistent.

''For example, we've introduced more logical explanations of how the infection spreads in the game. There was only a small hint of this in the game. For example, the bombing of the quarantine zone was a logical reason for the spread of infection. We used it. We also based Ellie's story of contracting this infection on a scientific logic.''

7. As in the game, perfect apocalyptic scenes had to be made in the series. For this reason, art books have been used as a source.

''For example, we spent a tremendous amount of resources to create the quarantine zone. In the second part, we spent hours on a really flooded set. The things we were building were too much, even for a one-minute scene.''

8. The prosthetic artists of the Game of Thrones series have contributed to the set in order to make the materials closer to reality.

''The prosthetics and make-up we used were restricting the actors' mobility. They were almost like puppets.''

9. Actors were given training in camps so that they could portray infected characters.

''It was difficult to coordinate dozens of people on the Copitol stage in the second part. For this reason, we trained the characters at the movement camp.''

10. An art team was assigned to find the 'artistic' parts of the mushrooms.

''The story is extremely dark and depressing. But when we look at mushrooms, they have different colors and shapes.''

11. It was actually Bella Ramsey's idea for Ellie to sleep with a switchblade penknife the night she stayed with Tess and Joel.

''This scene is one of the few scenes where we warm up to Bella and Ellie. It was also my idea for Ellie to sleep with a switchblade penknife because she doesn't trust the characters around her. One of the first scenes I directed.''

12. Director Neil's favorite detail was the drawing made by the boy in the fifth episode.

''The story is so long that it didn't fit into the series, let's say. But fans of the game want to know the story behind this drawing.''

13. Also, the director thought that the relationship between Joel and Tess could be a little more 'romantic'.

'We thought about how to write the stories of the characters. Then we took into account the way Joel treated her after Tess was bitten, and we realized that the relationship between them could include romance. When we look at the relationships between the two characters and the compliments they pay to each other, in fact, everything shows up clearly.''

14. And according to the way the story is going, it has been concluded that Tess and Joel can only find peace in each other!

''Both characters have very sad and traumatic backgrounds. They are both prone to violence. I think they can heal each other.''

15. Director Neil even cried while watching some episodes!

''It really hit me when I watched the show. I cried constantly. One of the first reasons for this was that I liked it a lot, even if I wasn't on the show. The second reason is that I really love Craig and the whole team very much.''

16. Following these statements, director Neil also stated that he is waiting for the third of The Last of Us game, if it carries a love and social message.

''If the continuation of the game comes, it could be nice for all gamers. They will have tasted both the atmosphere of 'The Last of Us' and its brutality. Another game with various characters in another city can also have a revolutionary quality beyond everything. When we look at today, many people are wondering what will happen in the continuation of the game. Naughty Dog is a little more advantageous thanks to Sony, which is why our games and other productions are funded by Sony. In addition, the audience is also waiting for us to release the continuation of the entire series.''

17. There are also some rumors about the second season.

'We had a conversation with the whole team to see if we should continue. Nothing is officially clear at the moment. We are receiving very good feedback from fans, teams and all over the world. If these responses continue, we may have many more stories to tell.''

18. But the series will not exceed the limits of the original game.

''We're adapting this series from the game. That's why we can't get out of the subject.''