The Last of Us showrunners on why the scariest scene of the game was cut from the show

HBO’s The Last of Us is its new record-breaking juggernaut; surpassing television ratings and viewership records with every new episode. The critics and the viewers are highly impressed by the quality of sceneries, storylines, costumes, and zombie makeup, however, the series has also faced its fair share of criticism. One of them being several fan-favorite scenes from the game not making it to the screen.

Why did the showrunners exclude the terrifying hotel basement sequence from The Last of Us video game?

In an interview with GQ, co-showrunner Craig Mazin admits they had to leave several sequences from the game for the sake of storytelling. He said, “I know there are sequences that people were very excited to see that weren’t in the show. One that would come up a lot was the hotel basement.”

“That is a terrifying sequence. But it’s harder to pull off solo sequences like that, where it’s one character alone and it’s just about action and atmosphere. What we find in the passive medium is that those action sequences are best appreciated by us watching through the reactions and interactions of the characters. So the episode Neil directed, where Tess, Joel and Ellie are in the museum and the clickers come. So much of that is about them looking at each other. And that is where the character magic happens.”

The Last of Us creator reveals his favorite scene from the game that didn’t make it to the show

Neil Druckmann, creator of The Last of Us video game and co-showrunner of the HBO series, revealed, “One of my favourite sequences in the game is when Joel falls on the rebar. And you’re playing as Joel and Ellie’s leading you and protecting you. If we’d done that the same exact way, the show would have suffered. Joel falling on the rebar is less realistic for the show where we’re building.”

“So for everything we’ve set up until that point, we’re giving up some reality. Ellie having to lead you and kill a bunch of people takes away from her kill with David and James [Episode 8]. The question is always ‘what’s the least we need to do to tell this version of the story?'”

What can we expect from The Last of Us Season 2?

Showrunner Craig Mazin teased the reporters about what’s to come in Season 2, “Sometimes it will be different radically and sometimes it will be barely different at all, but it’s going to be different and it will be its own thing. It won’t be exactly like the game. It will be the show that Neil and I want to make. We are making it with Bella.”

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