In seeking to correct what he describes as the “superficial” nature of The Last of Us Part II‘s narrative, franchise co-creator Neil Druckmann says the upcoming season of HBO’s live-action adaptation will present not a 1:1 adaptation of the game, but rather “a different version of that story.”
The current Naughty Dog studio head revealed this creative decision while speaking with Variety‘s Adam B. Vary regarding the HBO series’ swiftly-approaching return.
Asked if they held any concern regarding the ability for the show to satisfy both those viewers who already played through The Last of Us Part II and TV-only audiences, particularly in regards to Joel’s eventual fate, Druckmann admitted that while the element of surprise may be missing for the former demographic, he believed they would still be captivated by the story’s overall presentation.
“There are things where we don’t have the element of surprise, perhaps, the way the games did,” he said. “A lot of people who played the [first] game understood that Joel’s daughter was going to die very quickly in the first episode. Those people weren’t surprised. They felt it because it’s the journey.”
To this end, the discussion then turned to the HBO series’ decision to break from Part II‘s original story and introduce Eugene Linden, a former member of the Fireflies who served alongside Joel’s brother Tommy who in-game is only mentioned in passing set to be played by The Matrix star Joe Pantoliano, as a proper character.
“I get excited when I see these opportunities,” said Druckmann. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’ The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”
Taking a beat to compliment his writing partner’s willingness to modify his original story, the live-action series’ co-creator Craig Mazin then praised Druckmann, “You are unique in this way, and I’m deeply grateful for it” before beaming, “He understands the value of invention, reinterpretation, addition, change.”
In turn, Druckmann posited, “You always say you want to do whatever will make the best show.”
To this end, Druckmann was then pressed as to why he chose to cast Last Man Standing star Kaitlyn Dever to portray Abby, in doing so declining to have her properly ‘bulk up’, rather than anyone who even remotely resembled the character’s muscular build.
“Kaitlyn Dever wanted to work with us; we wanted to work with her,” recalled the writer. “It’s not worth passing it up to continue a search that might never bear fruit to find someone that matches the physicality.”
And though not specifically related to the topic of ‘game-to-screen accuracy’, it should be noted that at the end of their time together, Druckmann seemingly torpedoed the possibility of a The Last of Us Part III, telling Vary when asked about the matter, “I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of The Last of Us. This could be it.”
At current, Joel and Ellie are currently gearing up to make their television return this April 13th exclusively on HBO.