The Last of Us TV Series Will Feature Cut “Jaw Drop” Moment From the First Game

The upcoming The Last of Us TV series aims to take this franchise even further, even if that means bringing back cut content.
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HBO’s The Last of Us TV series aims to enhance what people loved from the first game from Naughty Dog and to make it a new experience for fans to enjoy. Apparently, the upcoming show will also feature cut content from the first game itself, including one truly “jaw drop” moment that we’ve yet to see. 

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The upcoming The Last of Us TV series is being led by Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin alongside Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann. The live-action take on the popular PlayStation exclusive will feature never-before-seen concepts as well as a new take on what we thought we knew from the first game as a whole. 

Mazin recently sat down with BBC to talk about the ambitious project, saying that their goal is to make fans fall in love with this adventure in a new way, not just re-hashing the title’s events. “Our goal is not to keep you in love with The Last of Us but to make you fall in love with it again in a different way. It’s a passive way of taking it in, instead of playing it, but you’ll be experiencing more, with more characters in more ways. I think we’ve got something good going,” he told BBC.

He added, “If you have played the game, our intention is that you will watch the show and say ‘this has violated nothing of what I loved about the game, and what I witnessed in the game, but it has also brought me a whole lot more – things I did not know, really amazing things’.”

For fear of spoilers, he didn’t go into detail about what the “jaw drop” moment is, but did talk about how they wanted to bring in previously cut concepts to help make this a fresh experience. “Jaw drop – that’s going in. For sure, we have to do that. You couldn’t stop me doing that. You will have to shoot me [to stop me] from doing that. And there were a few things like that,” Mazin said when Druckmann pitched going this angle. Mazin continued, “the joy of a story like The Last of Us is in its length. It’s a journey, a slow creation of a relationship. We understand inherently that relationships earned over time are more precious and more deserving defense. So it had to be in this format.”

As for the show itself, it is set to follow the events of the first game, centering around Joel and Ellie’s beginning journey: “From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig, I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of The Last of Us,” said Neil Druckmann in an earlier interview. “With Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn’t think of better partners to bring the story of The Last of Us to life as a television show.”

What do you think about the upcoming The Last of Us TV series from HBO? Are you excited to see this take or too burnt out with all of the sequel discourse?  Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter! We’d love to hear what you think!


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About the Author

Liana Ruppert

With an arguably unhealthy obsession with Dragon Age and Mass Effect, Liana is wildly passionate about all things in the gaming community. From shooters, to RPGs, if it's out - she's playing it. A medically retired US Sailor and now full-time hoarder of gaming collectibles, Liana's passion for everything in the gaming industry is palpable. Also, if you lose her in a crowd, just casually mention any BioWare game and the crazy pterodactyl screech will without a doubt follow. You can follow her on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy or email her for editorial inquiries at [email protected]!