Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: gabriel luna, HBO, Jasmila Žbanić, Jeffrey Pierce, Rutina Wesley, the last of us, Tommy Miller

The Last of Us Star Gabriel Luna Has Pitched Some Season 2 Ideas

HBO's The Last of Us star Gabriel Luna on his experience with the Naughty Dog games and his Season 2 pitches to creators Mazin & Druckmann.

It's probably to no one's surprise that Gabriel Luna was among those who were super psyched when HBO announced The Last of Us got renewed for a second season. As creators Craig Mazin and Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann have much bigger plans to incorporate the events of 2020's Part II beyond one season, it's not far-fetched to think the duo would have a vested interest in expanding Tommy's story beyond the games in future episodes. The following contains spoilers for the series' sixth episode, "Kin," and potential ones for upcoming episodes & seasons.

The Last of Us: Gabriel Luna's Ideas Inspired from the Game

"When I played the games, I experienced the story as one big chunk, one unified story. So I was just as much prepping for Part II as I was for the work that was immediately on hand," Luna told Entertainment Weekly. "I'm fully… Yeah, I'm ready." There are details about Tommy's life that were touched upon in the games and series but never expanded on, which we doubt will be, given there are three episodes left in the season. "I've pitched a few ideas to Craig and Neil about what we could explore, considering we can bubble out to certain pockets of the story that we don't get to experience in the game," the actor continues. "So we'll see what they have in store, but I was ready before we shot the first frame of [season 1] for Part II. I'm excited to get into that work."

As far as adaptations go, there haven't been any major changes to Tommy's character from game to TV, going from original game voice actor Jeffrey Pierce, who played Perry in the HBO series, to Luna. The brothers Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Tommy tried to survive together before the two became estranged, with the latter building himself a new life with Maria (Rutina Wesley) in Wyoming. Joel remained and built a life with Tess (Anna Torv), taking random jobs to survive before the two took the mission from Marlene (Merle Dandridge) to escort Ellie to a separate Firefly group.

"As they get to Boston, when it only increases the violence, increases the mistrust, he had to find somewhere to apply his skill and his need to fight, to restore life and joy and the reasons for living, not just survival," Luna muses. "So, in my mind, he joins the Fireflies, and he realizes at some point that the killing doesn't cease. In fact, it probably increased exponentially." In Part II, Tommy and Ellie (Ashley Johnson) seek revenge on those responsible for Joel's death as players take on the role of her and his killer, Abby (Laura Bailey), throughout the game. Viewers saw the town of Jackson, Wyoming, originally depicted in Part II, in "Kin," whereas players only saw Tommy and Maria's hydroelectric plant in 2013's Part I.

For more, including Luna theorizing that Tommy has a history with Marlene, developing the character's reunion with Joel and director Jasmila Žbanić, and how he learned to play Pearl Jam from the games, you can check out the rest of the interview here. The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!