The Last of Us HBO Max Series Almost Had A Much More Terrifying Intro Scene
The Last of Us, the HBO Max series based on the Naughty Dog video game, is being praised as one of the best – if not the best – game adaptation, largely for its faithful adherence to the original work, and going even further with certain additions and changes. While the fictional opening scene -which is completely original and not seen in the game- is already quite eerie, the show almost began with something much more terrifying and visual.
According to co-creator Craig Mazin on the series’ official podcast, they at first thought of an “extended documentary-style video, showing how Cordyceps takes over an ant,” as seen on Youtube. However, show director Neil Druckmann thought it could be too boring, and so they instead opted for something more dynamic.
The series’ released opener shows two scientists from the late sixties discussing potential pandemics that could wipe out humanity for the future, and one of the scientists (John Hannh) puts the fictitious Cordyceps virus on the table. He watches and analyzes with horror as the other scientists laugh, but words slowly created more fear as he continued to explain the pandemic.
The ending of the introduction catches the viewer off-guard and suggests that what we think we know, is wrong. Even though this opener was not the originally-intended one, Craig Mazin said he was very content with what they ended up doing and achieving with it.
The Last of Us series is looking to a season 2 with high critical and commercial accolades, and the original opening scene is sure to set the expectations justly.
Source | Total Film via GamesRadar
