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

The Last of Us Season 2 Not Beholden to Game; Some "Furor" Expected

HBO's The Last of Us creator Craig Mazin on creative differences compared to fans' expectations & preparing for more "furor" with season two.

If there's one thing that The Last of Us creator Craig Mazin is aware of since taking the job from day one, it's the incessant comparisons of the HBO series with co-creator & Naughty Dog visionary Neil Druckmann to the PlayStation videogames starting with the 2013 original. While all involved received a more proportionally positive reception with the TV changes going above and beyond the lore from fans, not to mention the 24 Emmy nominations, he is prepared for the expected pushback on how their treatment of 2020's Part II from season two onward.

The Last of Us: Craig Mazin on Fans Expecting Series to Be Like Games

"I'm never gonna say there are things that are gonna happen in the show that happened in the game. You never know what we're gonna do," Mazin told Entertainment Weekly. "But I will say that it is the adventure; the journey is the point. There are things that will shock people, things that were in the game, things that were not in the game, and that's okay. As long as they're purposeful, they're not there to just simply shock. We are not interested in creating social media fear. We just want to tell the story the way we think it should be told. Will there be furor? Yeah, probably; I mean, there usually is, starting even with casting."

Mazin points out the initial reaction to non-binary star Bella Ramsey's casting as Ellie Williams, the young protagonist that travels with the older Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal). Both have been nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor in a Drama Series categories, respectively. "We knew they were the exact right person to cast, and they had to go through quite a few months of people being awful on social media until they saw what we saw," he continues. "That, to me, is the point. We don't operate to either make people happy on social media or avoid making them upset. We just do what we think is right, and we hope that people come along for the ride and enjoy it."

Even before the HBO series, Druckmann's used to the vitriol of receiving death threats from the release of Part II, which prioritizes the narrative to Ellie and a new lead, Abby. Mazin said the goal for season two is ""to not necessarily achieve the same outcome, but follow the same process" as season 1. "It is ultimately the only process I really know and understand as somebody that writes things and directs and produces. So I don't really have much of a choice, but it is nice to know that at least this first go around, doing it the way I do it worked. I have great partners. We are all very humble with each other. Objections are always carefully considered. Nobody in our group operates out of ego or being defensive. We just try to make things better all the time, and we take care of each other. I think as long as we keep doing that, and we have more incredible source material to work with, we're gonna continue to adapt the way we do, which is to surprise people that have played the game. But also, I don't think anybody who has played the game is gonna watch a second season and go, 'Wait, what is this?'"

Currently, production for season two is suspended due to the current WGA strike and the looming SAG strike. Both say the events of Part II will encompass more than one season. It also probably allows Druckmann and Naughty Dog more time to develop the next incarnation of the video game franchise. For more, including how Mazin feels the development could work in the production's favor, you can check out the interview here.

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