Craig Mazin, a showrunner best known for HBO’s The Last of Us, seemingly has no problem killing off characters.
Massive spoiler warning: if you’re unfamiliar with The Last of Us Part 2’s story, then we wary reading on – Season 2 of the television series will essentially be an adaptation of that game, meaning earth-shattering spoilers are ahead. So maybe don’t keep reading if you’re sensitive to knowing massive plot beats. Seriously – this is your last chance to dip out.
Alright, let’s get into it. If you’ve played The Last of Us Part 2, you already know Joel dies relatively early in the story. During an interview with Esquire, Mazin hinted that the infamous moment will likely make it into Season 2.
“This should be fairly obvious to anyone by now, but I don’t fear killing characters,” Mazin said. “But the important thing to note is that neither Neil [Druckmann, co-creator and fellow executive producer of the series] nor I feel constrained by the source material.”
So, if you were hoping for a different outcome, it sure sounds like that will not be the case – keep all golf clubs away from Pedro Pascal, please (sorry, this joke was a swing-and-miss).
It’s a tough pill to swallow, and even Bella Ramsey, who played Ellie in HBO’s show, explained during the same interview that Joel’s potential demise will be a lot to sort through mentally.
“If that does take place in the show,” Ramsey explains. “I don’t know that I’m emotionally ready for it.”
Most fans aren’t either, in truth.
What we do know about Season 2 is it’ll have a lot more infected. That, and it probably will not premiere until late 2024 at the earliest.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.