Everyone’s favourite emotional drama about zombie mushrooms taking over the planet, The Last of Us, has come to an end. However, series co-creator Craig Mazin has revealed the ending we got was originally going to be much sadder. To be honest, I wish it’s what we ended up with.
If you’re like me, you probably thought the end of The Last of Us kind of just… happened. It was good, it hit all the right boxes, but it felt so… abrupt.
In an interview with GQ, Mazin revealed the team behind the show had an ending that was a bit more nuanced and upsetting but scrapped it to honour the game. Sir, the game came out in 2013, we can tweak the end just a LITTLE.
“The change was really more something that Ali Abbasi, our director, had been playing around with,” he said.
“He had this thought of just playing out this slightly longer, sadder version where Ellie (Bella Ramsey) says, ‘okay’, and then she turns and walks away. And Joel (Pedro Pascal) looks after her.
“We see the two of them walking, not really together but apart, down towards Jackson. It lingers and then fades.
“There was something beautiful about it.”
Mazin said that the team thought game fans would be “annoyed that they didn’t get it just the way it’s supposed to be.” I’m crying into my portobello mushrooms, this scrapped ending sounds beautiful.
“In the end, there’s something very specific about ending on that close-up of Ellie,” he continued.
“Not knowing what comes next. Not knowing what she does. Does she walk away from him, does she walk with him, how does she feel?
“That moment gets suspended permanently.”
I kind of get why they decided to end things where they did because it creates more mystery, but the sequel to the game has existed for a few years now so most people know where Ellie and Joel end up.
https://twitter.com/Astronaut_Ellie/status/1636310520029409282?s=20
Speaking of sequels, Mazin also hinted at how things are going to play out in the upcoming seasons of the show.
No spoilers, but the game shifts perspective a bit throughout the playthrough, and Mazin cleared up how that might work on screen.
“There are going to be things that are going to be different, and there are things that are going to be identical,” he said.
Come through, cryptic Cheshire cat.
“There are things that are going to be added and enriched. There are some things that are going to be flipped,” he continued.
“Our goal remains exactly what it was for the first season, which is to deliver a show that makes fans happy.
“It’s a daunting task. But Jesus, so was the first season. You can’t make everyone happy. But we’ve made a lot of people happy and that’s our intention to do it again.”
I can’t wait to see how this all plays out, but according to The Last of Us team, I may have to wait until 2025. Crying.
