The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann has weighed in on any backlash the HBO series' second season might get, saying he "doesn't care" about potential trolls. The co-showrunner, who co-wrote the original PlayStation game, says his only concern is doing the source material justice on screen.
"I don't care. How they react is how they react, that is completely outside of our control. So how do we make the best TV show version of that story? That's the problem that we wrestle with every day," he said of himself and fellow co-showrunner Craig Mazin in a recent interview with GQ.
"To the extent that the storylines move people to rage, confusion, or disappointment or anger. Well that, I suppose, is preferable to the worst possible outcome, which is indifference.”
Warning! The rest of this article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2, and presumably The Last of Us TV show going forward. Turn back now if you don't want to know anything in advance.
Shortly after The Last of Us Part 2 was released by Naughty Dog in 2020, a certain corner of the fandom took to the internet to criticize the game for killing off Joel and forcing the players to control Abby, Joel's killer partway through the narrative. On social media, some nastier naysayers even took issue with Ellie's romantic relationship with Dina in the game, as well as the inclusion of trans character Lev, and accused Druckmann and Halley Gross as "social justice warriors".
Despite glowing reviews from critics, The Last of Us Part 2 was also subject to review bombing on Metacritic, resulting in a user review score of 3.4/10 at one point in time.
The Last of Us airs on HBO and HBO Max in the US, and Sky Atlantic and NOW the following day in the UK. Make sure you're up to date with our The Last of Us release schedule or our breakdown of how many episodes are in The Last of Us.
For more from the series, check out our guide to the major Last of Us episode 9 changes from the games and a terrifying look at the Cordyceps fungus.
