Before the premiere of HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us, many fans of the game were convinced it would be unable to do the Naughty Dog series justice. While changes were made, the series ended up improving certain parts of the story and it now ranks among the best video game adaptations.
Here's where we get into spoiler territory; in The Last of Us Part II, Joel Miller is brutally murdered by the daughter of the surgeon he gunned down while rescuing Ellie. She then embarks on a mission of revenge, though being put in Abby's shoes means players can empathise with her mission of revenge.
We've already heard rumblings about Part II's story being split across two seasons but does HBO dare kill Pedro Pascal's Joel? The actor, who is rumoured to star in Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four reboot, is immensely popular and we saw what the brutal death of a fan-favourite can do to ratings when interest in The Walking Dead plummeted after Negan murdered Glenn.
Deadline (via GameFragger.com) recently asked Pascal whether he believes the show will follow the games and the actor chose his words very carefully.
"I think that they're always going to find ways to build on the incredible source material that they have, and surprise us with how they can use that material in a different format, like a television show," the actor explained. "But I wouldn't want to spoil it for anybody, and the truth is, I don't actually have all of the information, as of yet."
Co-showrunner Craig Mazin has previously suggested The Last of Us might pivot away from the games but cautioned, "This should be fairly obvious to anyone by now, but I don't fear killing characters. But the important thing to note is that neither Neil [Druckmann, who co-created and exec-produces the series with Mazin] nor I feel constrained by the source material."
"I'm never gonna say there are things that are gonna happen in the show that happened in the game. You never know what we're gonna do," he continued. "But I will say that it is the adventure, the journey is the point. There are things that will shock people, things that were in the game, things that were not in the game, and that's okay. As long as they're purposeful, they're not there to just simply shock."
It's hard to predict how viewers will react to Joel's demise but, if the game is anything to go by, Pascal's Joel can still appear even after death in flashbacks.
Recently, The Last of Us cast Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina, and Young Mazino as Jesse. We don't have an air date yet, but the series is currently expected to return to our screens in 2025.