Posted in: HBO, Preview, TV | Tagged: Bella Ramsey, craig mazin, HBO, naughty dog, neil druckmann, Pedro Pascal, the last of us

The Last of Us Creators, Pedro Pascal Discuss How Series Expands Games

HBO's The Last of Us creators Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann and star Pedro Pascal discuss expanding the games and why a film wouldn't work.

When HBO decided to adapt Sony and Naughty Dog's videogame franchise The Last of Us as a TV series, there were obvious creative challenges on how it would translate on the small screen. Would it be more action-oriented like the games, or would it expand more on the universe providing more character exposition? At the show's premiere, creators Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann (who was also the creative director for the ND titles) and star Pedro Pascal spoke to Variety about what the series allows them to do for fans of the games.

Capturing the Universe of 'The Last of Us'

"The hardest part of getting it right is all of it, is you have to get by every little thing. You have to get the casting right, the scripting right, the production design, the music, the editing, [and] the visual effects. All of it. That is why showrunning is such a crazy job. Every tiny detail, you have to have your eyes on. That's the joy of it for me," Mazin said. Pascal takes on the role of Joel, a father tasked to escort a mysterious teen Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who might be key to solving the Cordyceps plague that's doomed humanity.

"You get really lucky when the scripts are amazing. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the creator of the video game, composed these solid and amazing scripts, which does 90% of the work or more — 98% of the work, and the other 2% is for you to try not to fuck up something that is so good," Pascal said. Both actors caught their big break on the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones before Pascal scored another huge hit in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.

Druckmann was also involved in developing the film adaptation before it was scrapped. "The short answer is that the story is too long," he said. "We tried to make it into a movie, and it did not work because what is usually a 15-hour experience and compressing it down into two hours, it didn't work, and there is always something else that is popping out I felt was important to the story. This time around, it allowed us to take our time and have a slow burn with the relationship between Joel and Ellie, over a year-long journey that could have only been adapted into a TV show."

The Last of Us premieres on HBO on January 15th.

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