HBO takes Audiences Behind the Scenes in Latest Featurette

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A new look at the upcoming HBO series reveals that Bella Ramsey went against orders and took a peek at the game the show is based on.

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HBO recently gave us a behind-the-scenes peek of The Last of Us, with the actors and directors talking about the upcoming series based on the video game of the same name. Bella Ramsey, who plays a young survivor called Ellie, reveals that she was advised not to play the game so that she would have a fresh take on the character – however, she did not comply and watched some of the gameplay anyway. She says she did so “secretly,” although it’s not much of a secret anymore. It’s very in-character, as Ellie is a particularly rebellious teenager.

It’s going to be a huge series, with a massive budget that appears well-spent as the sneak peek shows us some stunning post-apocalyptic vistas and lifelike, mushroom-y zombies. Co-showrunner Neil Druckmann, who was also the creative lead on the original game and its sequel, promises the series “does it justice and then some.”

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The behind-the-scenes look, posted on Twitter, also talks about an event that shapes the character Joel, who is played by Pedro Pascal. Unfortunately, however, it appears to spoil a major event in the first episode, so watch carefully:

Related: The Last of Us: HBO Announces Lengthy Runtime for Series Premiere Episode

Showrunner Craig Mazin Reminds us the Parasite in The Last of Us is Real

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While most zombie stories concern some sort of virus or bacteria, The Last of Us changes things by having the zombie outbreak caused by a fungus. Craig Mazin says that this fungus, called the cordyceps, is real – although it only affects small insects and is relegated to very hot and humid places, such as jungles. Once a spore of the parasitic fungus infects an insect, it is forced to climb to a high point, where it then dies, and the fungus grows out of the corpse and spreads more spores. While it can’t affect humans, Mazin reminds us that if it could, an outbreak similar to the one in The Last of Us would happen.

Mazin also said that a few alterations were done “smartly” – different mediums require a different strategy. He promises “more” in the series so that it won’t be a simple carbon copy of the game:

“When you’re adapting something like a videogame, changes have to be done smartly. We are telling more, there is so much in between. It is going to be beautiful, terrifying, but ultimately, it’s enlightening.”

The 2013 video game has around an hour and a half of cutscenes – which are clips shown in between gameplay – although the whole game takes roughly 15 hours to beat. The series will have nine episodes, with the first being a stunning 1 hour and 25 minutes long.

The Last of Us premieres on HBO on Jan. 15. It stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, along with Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Merle Dandridge, and Nick Offerman. The series was created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann and is distributed by Warner Bros. Television Studios.

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