Pedro Pascal likened HBO's approach in creating its upcoming television adaptation of The Last of Us to the way Disney+ handled The Mandalorian.

In an interview with GQ, Pascal -- who will play main character Joel Miller in the series -- was asked how closely the new TV show will adapt the video game of the same name. "There's a very, very creative way of honoring what's important and also preserving what is iconic to the experience of the video game, and also [to include] things that you wouldn't necessarily expect," he said.

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"And then directions that you would expect it to go, and it might not… they're doing some really smart things, is all I can say," Pascal continued. "It's similar to the way Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni treat The Mandalorian, in how [Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann] are treating The Last of Us -- it's in good hands because they love it so much. Well, clearly Neil created the video game, but Craig loves it so much. So it really is made for the people that love it. And there's some very intense storytelling for people who might be less familiar."

Mazin and Druckmann serve as co-creators on the show, with Druckmann also having written and directed the video game the series it's based on. Determined to stick to Mazin and Druckmann's vision for the new television adaptation, Pascal revealed that he did not watch his nephew play through The Last of Us video game in its entirety.

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"I watched for as long as I was able to that day, and then I had to leave Florida. I found Joel so impressive -- I found the whole of it such a visually impressive experience," he said. "And then I got worried that I would want to imitate too much, which I think could be right in some circumstances, and then a mistake in others. So I just wanted to create a healthy distance, and for that to be more in the hands of Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann."

Based on Naughty Dog's video game of the same name, HBO's The Last of Us will center around Joel Miller, a hardened smuggler who is saddled with escorting 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the United States after the world is ravaged by a mysterious illness caused by a fungus called Cordyceps. Seemingly immune to this infection, Ellie may be only one able to stop the epidemic. Joining Pascal and Ramsey are Gabriel Luna as Joel's younger brother, Tommy; Merle Dandridge as resistance leader Marlene; Jeffrey Pierce as a rebel named Perry; and Anna Torv as Tess, Joel's partner in his smuggling exploits.

The Last of Us is expected to begin airing sometime in 2023, with filming set to end in June this year.

Source: GQ