The Last of Us writer says HBO show is “less violent” & “scarier”

Don’t worry: The Last of Us HBO show may cut the violence down to only what’s “essential” for the audience, but it’ll also be a “scarier” cinematic experience.

The Last of Us is HBO’s adaptation of the acclaimed 2013 PlayStation game, the crown jewel of Naughty Dog’s prestige output.

Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, it follows Joel and Ellie on their cross-country trip across an America ravaged by a parasitic fungal pandemic that transforms people into nightmarish monsters.

While hailed for its story – the greatest of all time, according to the show’s writer – The Last of Us is also known for its knuckle-breaking, gnarly gameplay, but the show required a different approach.

Why The Last of Us is “less violent” than the game

Anyone who’s played The Last of Us will attest to the game’s visceral violence: hand-to-hand combat is hard-hitting and brutal, pipes can be used to rattle enemies’ faces, and by the time of the sequel, you can dismember people with ease.

In a new interview with SFX Magazine, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann explained the difference with the show’s approach to action. “We need a certain amount of action, or violence, that we could use for mechanics so you could connect with Joel and get into a flow state,” he said.

“Then you would really feel like you’re connected with this on-screen avatar and you’re seeing the world through his eyes.

“But that doesn’t exist in a passive medium. One of the things that I loved hearing from [co-creator Craig Mazin] and HBO very early on was, ‘Let’s take out all the violence except for the very essential.’

“That allowed the violence to have even more impact than in the game, because when you hold on showing the threat and you’re seeing people’s reaction to a threat, that makes it scarier.

“And when we do reveal the infected and the Clickers, you get to see what brought down humanity and why everyone is so scared.”

Also speaking to The New Yorker, Druckmann explained how the show’s violence serves the humanity of the story. “When you’re playing a section, you’re killing people, and when you die you get sent back to the checkpoint. All those people are back, moving around in the same way,” he said.

“Watching a person die, I think, ought to be much different than watching pixels die.”

The Last of Us will premiere on January 15, 2023. You can find out more about the show here.