Nothing in the video game space has broken my heart nearly as much as The Last of Us Parts I and II. The story of Ellie and Joel is one of the most beautiful and profoundly tragic tales I’ve ever played through, and seeing the first part come to life so gorgeously in the first season of The Last of Us was such a wonderful experience.
Now that we are approaching Season 2, we will see the series adapting The Last of Us Part II, and taking place five years after the first season. And we had the opportunity to attend the press conference for the highly anticipated next season of the acclaimed series.
The Last of Us has always captured and touched on the deepest truths about humanity, from its cruelty to its kindness. One of those truths, the idea that violence begets further violence, and how that violence also spawns out of love sometimes, is heavily explored in Part II, and consequently the upcoming season. It’s incredibly tough and honest subject matter to tackle, but thankfully, on hand to discuss this at the press conference, were showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, as well as stars Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Kaitlyn Dever, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced, and Young Mazino.
Here’s what they all had to say:
Q: How does it feel to be back?
Mazin: Oh, my God, this is — this is fantastic. We’ve been working very, very, very hard for like, what is it, like, two years now? Because we don’t really take a break. We just… season one ends, start writing season two. Prep. Shoot. Post. So, it’s been it’s been awesome to like to remember that people are going to watch it. So, we’re just very excited to start showing people what we’ve done because we’re extraordinarily proud. Especially what these guys, it’s… They’re amazing.
Druckmann: Someone just asked me if I’m excited for the premiere tonight. I’m like, I don’t think that far ahead. Like, first we got to finish this thing, then we get to worry about that. But it feels now it’s close enough where you could start visualizing and thinking about people watching this show, engaging with it, talking about it. And like Craig was saying, not only everybody here, but just an incredible crew that just put everything on the line: incredible sets, and prosthetics, and VFX — nonstop VFX. We got a wild season in front of you.
Ramsey: It’s a little bit scary. I think it was, yeah — when season one came out obviously it was like this huge thing. I think I’m just so aware of, like, season two coming out and being, like, everybody, like, looking at it and looking at me and it’s, like, quite scary, but it’s, like, exciting and I’m – it’s nice to be here — and it’s trying to see it as, like, a celebration of all the, like, hard work that we did. And I just hope that people will — I mean, people are going to like it — and because these guys did an incredible job and just, yeah, I think we can all go… We all went into it with, like, complete trust for them. And we’ve been literally, like, carried and protected the whole way so it’s pretty exciting and I hope that, yeah, people will watch it.
Pascal: It’s so special to be back. And also, with such a kind of expanded identity, if that makes sense. Because there are new people and there are old people. Not that you’re old, Gabriel. I think there’s something that is really exciting about basically giving everyone another season of a show that everyone loved and that everyone has worked so hard on and has put so much into. I mean, look at how skinny Craig is.
Luna: I feel good. It’s good to be back. It’s, I’ll echo what Pedro said, it’s just, you know, just to see Bella and Pedro and Rutina — to just to get the family back together. But also, to add these additions that have been that have strengthened the story in so many ways; in so many new and exciting ways. Brought a great love for the for the source material right into it. And this — I am old — and there’s a beautiful infusion of youth and excitement and energy that they all brought. So, we’re really excited for everyone to experience what we made.
Q: We’ve got to talk about the new faces joining the crew and the cast. Kaitlyn, what was it like coming into this world for you?
Dever: It was it was like all of the feelings. It was I was nervous, I was anxious, but also very excited. I’ve been a huge fan of this game and the show for a very long time. Yeah, but the show — the reach of this, of this world — is so, so big. The world of The Last of Us is so large. And so, you can definitely, you can feel that — you know, in wardrobe fittings when you’re first, you know, in prep and then finally getting on set. It still feels very big but I, yeah, it was… I felt less nervous once I got onto set just because of this wonderful group of people and being held by Craig and Neil. It really felt like I was being cared for and taken care of in a way that I haven’t ever really experienced ever before. So, it was really a thrill as a person and an actor.
Mazin: Kaitlyn did things that I’m not sure, like, you even should have done. Like, I don’t know how you did them. When we meet new performers, we’re sort of like I — we knew her, obviously, as an actor and what she could do — but when you then you meet the person and you’re like, well, what can you actually do? What are you comfortable with? And Kaitlyn just would never say no. And it was amazing. And, and when you see like how physical, like, just how physically tremendous her performance is, it’s kind of it’s insane. Very grateful, like, so far, if you look down this row, we’re going to get to [Isabela & Young] at the end too. Like, we just we haven’t… We just haven’t f**ked up in casting. We just haven’t f**ked up.
Q: Isabela, I’m still thinking about the ending of episode one. Phenomenal. What was it like for you coming into the world of The Last of Us?
Merced: It was really cool. I just kind of felt like the new kid at school. I think Dina and I have a lot in common in the sense that, like, I have this random confidence for no reason… so I just really appreciate that they embraced me for who I was, and I really feel like I was seen through your eyes: Craig and Neil. And that’s kind of it was just a really good environment to flourish as an actor. And I think that’s why my mom will be proud of me.
Q: Young, what about for you?
I felt incredibly fortunate. I have so much gratitude to everyone here being so open. Joining a second season for something that was so well established the first time and the trust that I think Craig and Neil had in me to deliver on this character. I do remember getting more nervous when I stepped onto set and realizing the sheer scale of the town and seeing these — the huge gate that they built. That’s when I started to feel a little tripped out. But then, but then the longer I was there, I realized the energy was so, so warm and so inviting, and I feel like there was no ego on set. And I think that’s a rare thing, especially the larger set gets. And I had such a blast. It was chill.
Q: Bella and Pedro — The events of the season two takes place five years after the first season. So, can you walk us through what mindset did you have to adopt keeping in mind that your characters are now five years older?
Ramsey: We just had to not like each other for a bit.
Pascal: You had to not like me, which came easy.
Ramsey: So easy. I think that, um, yes, obviously a lot has changed over those five years. Ellie was like 14 and now is 19. And I think in any teenager’s life that’s, like, always the formative years, so that is definitely, yeah, that definitely informed it. But there’s obviously deeper reasons for that for their little rift. And it was kind of, I didn’t enjoy the feeling of feeling estranged from Pedro within a scene. It wasn’t a nice feeling… When the cameras were rolling. In real life, we still kind of like each other, just about. And so it was, yeah, it was definitely interesting. What would you say to that? [gesturing at Pedro]
Pascal: On a practical level, my first day on set, I feel like it was a beautiful set up by Craig and Neil that the first thing that I got to shoot anyway was just [Bella] and I and in kind of an intimate setting. And there’s like, an incredibly painful distance between the two of them in the playing of the scene, but we still got to be on set and fuck around and laugh and, and stuff like that, and that was incredibly comforting. That was like coming home. And I don’t remember what the question is at all. [Reuben clarifies off-mic] Oh my mindset. My mindset was grateful to being back and yet at the same time, it’s this experience, more than any other I’ve had is hard for me to separate what the characters are going through and how it makes me feel. In a way that isn’t very healthy. And so, I kind of feel their pain and, I suppose, so I suppose I was in an unhealthy mindset.
Q: How much is a show like this an escape, and how much is it a view into what we need to examine in the real world?
Pascal: I think that storytelling is cathartic in so many ways, always has been. It’s the way that the human beings have made testimony to life. Whether it was, you know, handprints on the walls inside of a cave to, you know, a television show that you can stream on Max. Starting April 13. And so, for me, you know, growing up, I have always and it’s all of my development is based on, you know, books I’ve read, movies I’ve seen, and television that I’ve watched. And so, it’s very much going to reflect the human experience. And under such extreme circumstances, I think that there’s a very kind of, like, healthy and sometimes sick pleasure in, in that kind of catharsis, in a safe space to, to see human relationships under crisis and in pain and, and intelligently draw political allegory, societal allegory and, and based off of the world that, that we’re living in and, and very beautifully and very intelligently.
Luna: I think there’s a huge catharsis element to it all. The first season, we made a story about a pandemic fearing that maybe there’s a fatigue, but I think the experience that everyone had just gave them an entry point to what we were doing. And I think the second game, which, as Neil wrote it in the way that Craig and Neil, I’m assuming, writing this, the second season, is, you know, it’s about, you know, conflicts and where do they start? And who started it? And trying to, and right now all over the world, we’re dealing with these conflicts that, they’re — people are stuck in the wheel of vengeance and can it be broken? Will it be broken? And that’s where we are, so catharsis is a big element to both, I think.
Q: Given that the game chooses to have players meet and play as Abbie without knowing any of her backstory, I was somewhat surprised when the premiere established Abbie’s ties to the fireflies into Salt Lake City so immediately. How did you want on that level of clarity as the starting point for the season?
Druckmann: There are two reasons why we change certain context or move certain things up in the story. One of which, in the game, you know, you start the game, like you said in the question, you play as Abbie, so you immediately form an empathic connection with her because you’re surviving as her. You’re running through the snow, you’re fighting infected, and we can withhold certain things and make it a mystery that will be revealed later in the story. We couldn’t do that in the show because you’re not playing as her, so we need other tools. And that context gave us that shortcut. Something similar happened in season one when, you know the game, one starts with you playing as Sarah, and we didn’t have to do a lot of heavy lifting for you to care about Sarah, because you’re playing as her, you’re experiencing the outbreak as her. In the show, we had to spend quite a bit of time to achieve something similar. So that was one reason. Another reason is, you know, where that revelation happens in the game. If we were to stick to a very similar timeline, viewers would have to wait a very, very long time to get that context. You would probably get spoiled to them between seasons, and we didn’t want that. So, it felt appropriate for those reasons to move that up and give viewers that context right off the bat.
Q: Now that season two is about to release, what were you looking forward to most in terms of adapting the game? Did you film something and go through post and everything and now you have a different favorite scene? I would love to know if any of you guys went in excited to do something specific, and then you came on the other end and you loved something even more?
Mazin: I don’t want to say what it is, but there was a scene in the in the final episode of the season, and we can all come back here and discuss it at The London then.
Ramsey: I know the one.
Mazin: It’s it’s quite impactful in the game, but there was this kind of evolution of it as we, as we put it on film, that kind of blows me away. And those moments are very exciting. But I have to admit, there’s also I mean, this is not a spoiler. It’s in the trailer. You see Pedro and Bella both by the space capsule in the museum and that scene is the first thing that Neil ever showed me from The Last of Us Part II. It’s beautiful and watching them kind of inhabit that and make it their own was pretty spectacular. [doing Larry David impression] Pretty, pretty good.
Ramsey: I agree with that. Yeah, the later episode stuff. Some, yeah, some of the stuff in the last episode, particularly the last two were my favorite, favorite, favorite things to film, and also, I think to hopefully to watch. [to Craig and Neil] I’m sure you’ve done a great job.
Q: Isabela, this is a question for you… how would you describe your character and what has it been like for you as an actor that’s been in all these franchises of late, from Sony’s Spider-Man Villain Universe and Aliens to The Last of Us now and Superman later this summer?
Merced: Oh, awesome. Thanks. I was, I kind of see Dina as an extension of myself, if I were in sort of like an apocalyptic situation, I would try to lighten it up a bit. I think that’s our superpower as humans, is we really have the power to shift our perspective and make our own reality. And I think Dina is sort of also Ellie’s compass and light, in a way. And I think Dina’s also grieving at the same time, and we explore that [stopping herself] [groaning] spoilers [more groaning]… And so, yeah. Anyways, I think it’s going to be really fun to get to know Dina is more than just like “the funny guy.” And I think Craig does a great job of well-rounding his characters like that. And then, um, franchises are cool… I guess, you know [pointing to Gabriel] you [laughing anxiously] and I… I don’t want to hear my voice anymore.
Q: With the first season, we did have a couple of what I would call, like, a bottle episode. They did, you know, inform the story and the plot, but they also kind of just gave us a little slice of life. So, I would like to know, are we going to see some of that this season?
Mazin: Yes… one thing that Neil and I talked about was just making sure that we didn’t just say, oh, you know, like that Bill and Frank episode — people really like that. Let’s do a very special episode of The Last of Us Season Two. It just has to happen as it happens. But I will say that there is a gorgeous episode this season directed by Neil that is different than, it’s not Bill and Frank, but it is, in its own way, its own thing, because it needed to be. And just, just you wait. [gesturing to the cast]. Just you wait.
Druckmann: There’s a lot of those moments throughout the season. Like every episode has those moments interweaved.
Q: Young, I was going to ask you, what can we expect from your character this season? Aside from the sounds.
Mazino: Well, I think a lot of Jesse — his character — comes out of his relationships with Ellie and Dina. I think a lot of that is informed in the writing and his priorities and his ideals, and what he cares about all gets kind of put to the test because of his relationship to Ellie and Dina and his obligation to the community that looked out for him when he needed somewhere to stay.
Q: Gabriel, what can we expect from Tommy?
Luna: in these five years, his family is growing. He’s been reunited with his brother. His family is, the, Benjamin, his… We’re raising, you know — Marie and I have this [searching for words] — the only thing, the only real turbulence there, is, I think, the way that you raise a son and how you raise a daughter. And I think you get to examine a lot of that because our family is now these five people and, you know, the core of the family, which is Marie and I, and Ezra, his uncle, Joel, and his cousin, Ellie. Right? In the, um, and so it’s just really interesting thing about, you know, growing the community: who we let in, how we protect those that we love, how we allow those that we care for and the children that we’re rearing and trying to send them in the right direction. Like, what elements of danger are we allowing them to encounter so that they can develop their skills? You know, I think as Uncle Tommy to Ellie, I can I see her capabilities as a warrior. And while Joel would very much like to keep her as close to him, and as protected, as possible, I think, I think I am, as the uncle, I’m allowed to have, uh, more of a, you know, a longer leash that can just absolutely be snapped at any moment because Ellie’s a very convincing person. So, so yeah, you see this, this growth of their small nuclear family and also his maturity as, as, as the leader of the Security Council and, and, and the responsibilities he holds for the safety of the community.
Q: Building Tommy and Joel’s relationship is important. How has it been watching the brothers grow between seasons?
Pascal: I think, I think that there was just like a very, very well-placed arc for us. You know, I started the season with [Tommy]. We started season one together on D-Day. Right? And so there was like a, a kind of bonding initiation process stepping into all of it. We had our rehearsals and in pre-production we went river rafting…. And then, and then we were separated and then put in the snow together. And we had a real kind of like, intimate that my — I had you there when I feel like a lot of the flesh of my character started to kind of display itself and got to be played. And then, and I started season – and so in season two, it felt like a real natural building of what we had established as characters and as scene partners.
Luna: And I agree and in that, I think when we first started, we had a really nice FaceTime call where I felt a very uncanny familiarity with you… Well, you sent me that piece by — the Blood Meridian piece — so we could work on just the accent. And we both spent time in Texas. I grew up in Austin. You spent time San Antonio. So, we had that to work on, I think. But I think that the time that you and I had with Jazz Miller rehearsing the scene in the bar was also a very strong bonding element. And you and I kind of sat there and took Craig’s words. We didn’t change a single word, we promise, but we just re-jumbled the whole thing.
Mazin: That was amazing. You guys, yeah, and everybody’s generally incredibly respectful of the writing we do. But we’re also respectful you guys. And sometimes, you know, a director would say like, “oh, do we need this line?” And I’d be like, “I guess not.” And then Pedro would come over and say, “let me just defend the script for a second,” which I, you know, I, like, [grabbing his chest] my heart, you know, as a writer. I’m like, “oh, thank you!” But these guys took that scene and came back and they’re like, look, we’ve taken this chunk. We moved here, took this chunk and moved it here. And I read and I was like, fuck me, that’s so much better. And you know, and I would have told you if I’d thought not. I just, but that’s the level of attention and care, like, they’re not just fucking around. They, and that, that scene is a beautiful scene. That’s a beautiful moment between the two of you. I love that scene. And then the hurt and then and what it leads to…
Q: So, Joel has such a protective nature with Ellie, you know, protecting her at all costs. And — he’s ally of the year by the way, that one scene in episode one — but is there someone in real life you draw inspiration from with his protective nature?
Pascal: I do, I draw inspiration from somebody in terms of Joel’s protective nature? I mean, I think that, that Joel — um, yeah, I’m protective… I’m protective of the people that I love. And I think that that’s probably the main component that I relate to.
Q: I want to ask everybody in this panel in a single word describe season two. Young, I’m going to start with you. Or you can have a sentence…
Mazino: Explosive.
Merced: Grief.
Luna: Vengeance.
Dever: Gripping.
Pascal: Snowy.
Ramsey: Rainy.
Druckmann : Love.
Mazin: Beautiful.
The Last of Us Season 2 Premieres on HBO and Max on April 13.