While HBO's The Last of Us continues to gain favor with fans of the long-running franchise, the main character in the titular video game admits he wasn't keen on its live-action adaptation.
Speaking with Deadline, Troy Baker, who played Joel Miller in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II games, recalled his conversations with their co-creator Neil Druckmann about developing the live-action version for HBO. While Season 1 has exceeded Baker's expectations, the voice actor revealed his initial doubts about how everything would translate. "Everything has been surprising because none of this has been expected. It was hoped for, and there was a desire for this thing to find a new audience," Baker said. "Neil really helped me with that because I was against the idea of the show. I was like, "Why not just leave it as a game?" And Neil goes, "Because I believe this story is good enough to get out to people who will never pick up a controller, and we need to bring this story to them." And just seeing the amount of dedication, skill, and perseverance that both Neil and Craig, the producers, and the crew have shown pay off in fan art, social media posts, and tears have been incredible."
The Last of Us Hits Record-Breaking Numbers
Season 1 of The Last of Us has been a record-breaking hit for HBO and HBO Max, with the viewership numbers of Episode 7, "Left Behind," nearly doubling those of the premiere, which generated the network's highest viewership for an opener since House of the Dragon. According to Baker, seeing the substantial success of The Last of Us has been miraculous and validates the decision to transform Naughty Dog's video game franchise into a show. "Seeing this show's resonance with people has been the most surprising thing. Because if you get to do it once, man, that's a miracle," Baker said. "And then to be able to do this successful thing twice, we've just continually been climbing mountains, and the fact that we're now sitting here at the top of this new one is truly a miracle."
Baker received multiple award nominations for playing Joel in The Last of Us game series and featured in the Naruto, Sonic the Hedgehog and Call of Duty franchises. His role in the live-action version of The Last of Us is played by Star Wars: The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal, who has won plaudits for his portrayal of the middle-aged survivor who's tasked with smuggling Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the U.S. border to try and suppress the Cordyceps infection.
The Last of Us Season 1 finale, "Look for the Light", is already one of the most hyped for HBO in recent memory. Ramsey recently claimed the episode would be very divisive for viewers but did not elaborate on why. Meanwhile, fans yearning for more after the finale airs can begin to look forward to Season 2 after the show's renewal was confirmed this past January. Pascal suggested Season 2 filming could start sometime this year, though there's been no confirmation of production or potential release dates.
Catch the Season 1 finale of The Last of Us via HBO on Mar. 12 at 9 p.m. ET, or stream it on HBO Max.
Source: Deadline