Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann previously revealed that certain episodes of HBO’s upcoming adaptation of The Last of Us will “deviate significantly” from their source material. But, oddly enough, the timeline of Joel and Ellie’s onscreen adventure is also in flux.
In the game’s timeline, the Cordyceps pandemic broke out in 2013, with the main events of The Last of Us twenty years later (i.e. 2033). But in the HBO series, the events begin in 2003, with the bulk of the show’s story set in the year 2023 (as first revealed by The Last of Us. Advertising material (Opens in a new tab)).
Why the change? According to Druckmann, the decision to set The Last of Us in 2023 was made in order to “help make [the story] more realistic”, with presenter Craig Mazin feeling that TV shows could benefit from taking place in familiar timelines.
Speaking to TechRadar as part of a roundtable interview ahead of the HBO Max series’ debut on January 15, Mazin explained:[The decision to shift the timeline] It was something Neil and I talked about very early on. It’s a subtle difference. But I have this thing about jumping into the future. I feel like if I’m watching a show and the year is 2023, and the show takes place in 2043, it’s less realistic. Even if I’m watching a show that’s set in 2023 and takes place in 2016, it’s less realistic. So I thought it might be interesting to say, “Hey, look, in this parallel universe, this is happening right now. This is happening this year.”
Mazin also explained that the move to forward the series’ timeline had little impact on the nature-struck aesthetic of The Last of Us’ post-apocalyptic environments. practically, [the decision] It hasn’t changed much other than giving us a slightly different panel of claims and selecting styling and vehicle options.” Chernobyl Creator explained. “But interestingly, as we go on in the series and keep looking for new places and new relics from the ancient world, we keep going back to that 2003 vibe. So it was about helping people connect a little bit more and nothing more.”
Druckmann, for his part, was pleased with Mazin’s preference for setting The Last of Us in the present day, teasing his partner’s response to say “If it helps make [the show] More realistically, this is a beneficial change.”
“It’s one of those things for which there has never been a clear answer,” Druckmann added. “We’ve really gone so far from 2013, so I felt that way [the show] I needed some kind of change, and I can tell how strongly Craig feels about making the biggest part of the show nowadays. It was one of those changes that didn’t feel like we were fundamentally changing what [The Last of Us] about that, so I bought that.”
So there you go, folks. We’ll be sharing more insights from Druckmann, Mazin, and series stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the coming days, ahead of The Last of Us’ release on January 15th on HBO Max in the US. Viewers in the UK will be able to watch the show on Sky Atlantic and Now at the same time from January 16th. Hopefully, it will be on our list of the best HBO Max shows out there.