The Direct attended the official press conference for The Last of Us Season 2, where the cast and creatives teased the upcoming new episodes—including one key scene between Joel and Ellie.
Season 2 will start adapting the events of The Last of Us: Part II, the second game in the original series, which mostly takes place five years after the events of the first game (and that of Season 1 of the Max show).
In attendance to the event were Craig Mazin (Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Writer/Director), Neil Druckmann (Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Writer/Director), Pedro Pascal (Joel), Bella Ramsey (Ellie), Kaitlyn Dever (Abby) Gabriel Luna (Tommy), Isabela Merced (Dina), and Young Mazino (Jesse).
The Last of Us Showrunner & Star Teases Some Incredible Scenes In Season 2
Craig Mazin Teases a "Pretty Spectacular" Ellie and Joel Scene
After being asked a question about what scenes they didn't expect to be so excited to see in their final forms in The Last of Us Season 2, showrunner Craig Mazin and Ellie actor Bella Ramsey teased some intense moments in the final episodes—and one key moment between Ellie and Joel.
Craig Mazin: Well, I'll kind of pull Bella in on this one. There are, I don't want to say what it is, but there was a scene in the final episode of the season, and we can all come back here and discuss it...
Bella Ramsey: I know the one.
Mazin: It's quite impactful in the game, but there was this kind of evolution of it 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 2'. It's beautiful and watching them kind of inhabit that and make it their own was pretty spectacular.
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 things to film, and also, I think, to hopefully, to watch. I'm sure you've done a great job.
For added context, the scene that Mazin is referring to with the space capsule is an amazing, truly special moment seen in a flashback (in the original game) between Joel and Ellie as he takes her to a museum for her birthday.
Kaitlyn Dever and New Cast Members on Joining The Last of Us Season 2
"I've Been a Huge Fan of This Game and the Show For a Very Long Time."
Kaitlyn Dever, who plays the iconic character Abby in The Last of Us Season 2, a character who first debuted in The Last of Us: Part II on the PlayStation 4, offered her thoughts on what it was like joining the massive series.
Kaitlyn Dever: It was like all of the feelings. 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 world is so, so big. The world of 'The Last of Us' is so large. And so, you can definitely feel that, you know, in wardrobe fittings when you're first in prep and then finally getting on set. It still feels very big...
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.
Showrunner Craig Mazin jumped in to offer high praise for Dever and how she took over the role of Abby:
Craig 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—we knew her, obviously, as an actor and what she could do—but 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 when you see how just how physically tremendous her performance is, it's kind of 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 fucked up in casting. We just haven't fucked up.
Isabela Merced (who plays Dina, Ellie's new romantic interest) and Young Mazino (Jesse) then offered their own thoughts on what it was like to join the series in Season 2:
Isabela 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 I have this random confidence for no reason...
And 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.
Young Mazino: I felt incredibly fortunate. I have so much gratitude to everyone here for 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 the longer I was there, I realized the energy was 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.
While not new to the cast by any stretch, The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel, offered his own thoughts on returning to the show:
Pedro 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 [Luna]... 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. [laughing to himself] I mean, look at how skinny Craig [Mazin] is.
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal on Returning to Ellie and Joel's Story Five Years Later
"Obviously a Lot Has Changed Over Those Five Years."
The bulk of The Last of Us Season 2's story takes place a whopping five years after the first season, which quickly introduces audiences to very different dynamics and circumstances with these characters.
Stars Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal commented on their mindset of approaching such a big time gap for the duo:
Bella 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.
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 stuff like that. And that was incredibly comforting. That was like coming home...
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.
Neil Druckmann on Why The Last of Us Changed the Narrative's Structure
"You Would Probably Get Spoiled Inbetween Seasons."
Originally, in the game The Last of Us: Part II, players don't learn anything about Abby's origin story until halfway through the story (roughly 10-12 hours of playtime).
The creatives behind The Last of Us show decided that their approach for the series needed to change. Now, the very first scene of Season 2, Episode 1, reveals the motivations behind Abby and her group of friends.
The Last of Us co-creator and executive producer Neil Druckmann broke down why they chose to make that change (the first of what will likely be more than a few adjustments) for the series.
Neil 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, 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 1 when, you know, the [first] game 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 in 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.
The Last of Us Season 2 debuts on Max on April 13.
