The Last of Us director talks episode 3 Easter egg involving Joel's "hero shirt"

The Last of Us
(Image credit: HBO)

The Last of Us has proven to be a pretty faithful adaptation of the PlayStation game in which its based so far, often recreating some of the source material's biggest scenes shot-for-shot. It's also featured a bunch of Easter eggs for players to enjoy, like a giraffe soft toy and a nod to Naughty Dog's Uncharted, too.

During a Q&A event attended by SFX magazine, The Last of Us episode 3 director Peter Hoar also revealed that Joel's "hero shirt" from the game featured in the recently aired 75-minute installment – only it's not worn by Joel.

"There are lots of game things in the episode," he told the audience. "I don't want to spoil it for you but there's loads. We did, both of us, geek out a little bit because we were like "Oh, we're doing that bit... 'That's that shirt...' You [to actor Murray Bartlett, who plays Frank] actually wear the shirt that Joel eventually wears... which is his 'hero shir't in the game."

Depending on the player's gameplay success, Joel can wear a few different shirts in The Last of Us game, from a denim one and a green plaid one to a more red plaid one. While Hoar didn't specify which shirt it is that Frank wears in the show, we'd guess it was the latter, which looks similar to the one Bartlett is sporting in the image above.

Elsewhere in the interview, Hoar touched on how the episode's ending shot echoed a major part of the game: the opening menu, which sees thin curtains blowing in the breeze, either side of an open window.

The Last of Us continues on Sunday, February 5 on HBO and HBO Max in the US, and Sky Atlantic and NOW TV the following day in the UK. Make sure you never miss an episode by checking out our The Last of Us release schedule and our breakdown of how many episodes are in The Last of Us.

For more on the latest chapter, check out our guide to the major Last of Us episode 3 changes from the games or find out more about Frank's untold backstory.

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.